STUDIES IN HISTORY 



CONTAINING THE 

HISTORY OF GREECE, . 

FROM ITS EARLIEST PERIOD, TO ITS FINAL SUBJUGATION 
BY THE ROMANS ; 

IN A 

^mt$ of ©j($as!5, 

ACCOMPANIED WITH 

REFLECTIONS, 

REFERENCES TO ORIGINAL AUTHORITIES, 

AND 

HISTORICAL QUESTIONS. 



BY THOMAS MORELL. 



Respicere exemplar vitee morumque jubebo 

Doctum imitatoreni, et vivas hinc ducere voces ; — 

Curantem quidquid digaara sapiente bonoque est ; — 

Quid rteceat, quid non ; quo virtus, quo ferat error. — HoR at. 



EMBELLISHED WITH A MAP. 



Hcntron : 

PRINTED FOR BLACK, YOUNG, AND YOUNG, 

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MDCCCXXIV. 



LONDON : 
FEINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES, 
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TO 

SAMUEL WHITBREAD, ESQ., M.P., 

THE FOLLOWING ATTEMPT 

TO INCULCATE CHRISTIAN MORALITY, 

AND 

ELUCIDATE RELIGIOUS TRUTH, 
BY MEANS OF GENERAL HISTORY, 

IS, 

WITH SENTIMENTS OF UNFEIGNED ESTEEM 
FOR HIS MANY PUBLIC AND DOMESTIC VIRTUES, 
RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, 

BY 

THE AUTHOR. 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



It would be presumptuous in the Writer of the 
following pages, to solicit the attention of the 
public to a new History of Greece, without 
stating the reasons which induced him to under- 
take the task, and the object at which he has 
aimed in its execution. 

Amongst the numerous Grecian Histories 
which have been presented to the world in 
modern times, there are several which, undoubt- 
edly, rank high as literary productions. They 
are characterized by genius and taste, profound 
erudition and classical refinement. On these 
accounts, they have been deservedly esteemed 
by the British Public, who have seldom failed to 
appreciate literary merit. But some of these 
are too voluminous to obtain general circulation ; 
and others, (which is a much heavier charge,) 
too anti-christian in their principles, to be read 
with unqualified approbation by persons of ge- 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



nuine piety. If an exception be made in favour 
of the excellent RoUin, (v^hose history is too ex- 
tended for general use,) of the rest it may with 
too much truth be affirmed, that they betray a 
lamentable deficiency of moral and religious 
sentiment — that an extremely disproportionate 
attention is paid to the military achievements 
of lavsrless conquerors and ruthless tyrants — ^that 
a false, because an unscriptural lustre, is thrown 
around the names and characters of the most 
celebrated heroes of antiquity — that actions are 
highly applauded by them, which Christianity 
teaches us to censure and condemn — and, finally, 
that many of their pages breathe more of the 
impure spirit of Polytheism than of the genius 
and temper of our Holy Religion. 

In the volume which is now, with great dif- 
fidence, submitted to the eye of a discerning 
Public, it is attempted to supply these acknow- 
ledged deficiencies, and correct these authorized 
abuses. The sole aim of its writer has been to 
apply a valuable, but perverted, branch of lite- 
rature, to its most legitimate and beneficial pur- 
pose, by rendering it a vehicle of religious in- 
struction. With this view, he has endeavoured 
to bring the characters and events most cele- 
brated in Ancient History, to the light of truth, 
to contemplate them through a sacred medium, 
and to try them by the hallowed test of Christian 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



vii 



principles. Above all, it has been his endeavour, 
inadequate as he feels himself to the mighty 
task, to trace the footsteps of Jehovah amidst 
the desolations of former ages, 

" That to the height of this great argument 
He might assert eternal Providence, 
And justify the ways of God to men." 

Intent upon this pre-eminent object, the author 
has attempted to place those facts in the clearest 
and strongest light, on which the finger of God was 
most visibly impressed; cautiously excluding 
from his pages, those which have a manifest ten- 
dency to vitiate the mind, and inflame the pas- 
sions. Upon the same principle, political dis- 
quisitions have been avoided, even when they 
seemed obviously to arise, as foreign to the de- 
sign of the work, and calculated to diminish its 
usefulness. And, for the same reason, those 
questions of doubtful controversy, whether they 
relate to doctrine or discipline, which have long 
agitated and divided the Christian world, have 
been kept out of sight. 

Whilst the author of the following essays 
gratefully acknowledges the assistance he has 
derived from the labours of modern historians of 
high respectability, he feels it due both to himself 
and to the Public, to state that his narrative is 
drawn from ancient and original documents, which 



viii 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



he has spared no pains in consulting, as far as 
his local circumstances would permit. 

Sincerely grateful for the favourable reception 
with which the former editions of this work have 
been indulged, the writer of the following pages 
is encouraged to submit this new, and, he hopes, 
improved edition, to the same public ordeal. In 
preparing it for the press, he has chiefly studied 
the wishes and convenience of those who are 
engaged in the work of tuition, to many of whom 
his best thanks are due for their valuable sug- 
gestions and liberal patronage. Some trifling 
errata, which had crept unobserved into the for- 
mer editions, have been corrected — in some in- 
stances, where the reflections seemed unneces- 
sarily diffuse, they have been abridged ; and 
where the narrative was too brief, it has been 
amplified — a considerable number of questions 
have been added, and it has been attempted so 
to construct the whole series, that the answers 
must of necessity include the substance both of 
the history and the reflections. Most happy will 
the author esteem himself, if, by this or any other 
means, he may be instrumental towards facili- 
tating the labours, or gratifying the desires, of 
such Christian parents and teachers as are 
anxious to promote the moral and religious im- 
provement of their youthful charge. But, above 
all will his efforts be amply rewarded, should 



CONTENTS. 



BOOK I. 

THE HISTORY OF GREECE FROM ITS EARLIEST PERIOD 
TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE PERSIAN WAR. 

ESSAY PAGE 

1. On the Origin of the Grecian States - - 1 

2. On Minos, the Legislator of Crete - ----- -- 11 

3. On the Argonautic Expedition --19 

4. The Destruction of Troy 25 

5. The Death of Codrus - - - 32 

6. On Lycurgus, the Spartan Legislator ------ 38 

7. On the Messenian Wars - .- -- -- .- -45 

8. On Draco, the first Legislator of Athens 51 

9. On Solon, the Athenian Legislator and Philosopher - - 56 

10. Solon and CroBsus 62 

11. On Pisistratus and his Successors - -- -- --67 

12. On the earliest Philosophers of Greece ------ 74 

13. On the most ancient Greek Poets - -- - - -- -81 

14. The Grecian Oracles - -- -- -- -- -- 88 

15. The Council of Amphictyons 94 

16. The Public Games - -- - 100 



BOOK II. 

THE HISTORY OF GREECE DURING THE PERSIAN 
AND PELOPONNESIAN WARS. 

1. On the Causes of the Persian War - 107 

2. On the Battle ot Marathon ---113 

3. The Death of Miltiades 121 

4. The Invasion of Greece by Xerxes - 128 

5. The Death of Leonidas - -.-.----«136 

6. Athens burnt by Xerxes - 144 

7. On the Conclusion of the Persian War -150 

8. On the Treason and Death of Pausanias 156 



X 



CONTENTS. 



ESSAY PAGE 

9. On the Character and Public Life of Themistocles - - 163 

10. Character of Aristides - . - . 170 

11. Character and Administration of Cimon - 178 

12. On the Causes of the Peloponnesian War ----- 185 

13. Character of Pericles, and Progress of the War - - - 191 

14. The Peace of Nicias 199 

15. On the Sicilian Expedition, conducted by Nicias - - - 207 

16. Character of Alcibiades 214 

17. Athens taken by Lysander - - - - 222 

18. On the Philosophers of the middle Period of Grecian History 231 

19. On the Poets of the middle Age - - - 239 

20. General View of the State of Literature and the Arts - 249 



BOOK III. 

THE HISTORY OF GREECE FROM THE PELOPONNESIAN 
WAR TO ITS FINAL REDUCTION BY THE ROMANS. 

1. On the Expulsion of the Thirty Athenian Tyrants - - 258 

2. On the Retreat of the Ten Thousand 264 

3. On the Character and Death of Socrates ----- 273 

4. On the Conquests of Agesilaus and Conon - - - - 284 

5. On the Theban War - 291 

6. On Pelopidas and Epaminondas 300 

7. On Philip of Macedon - - - . . 309 

8. On Demosthenes, the Athenian Orator 319 

9. On the Subversion of the Persian Empire by Alexander - 329 

10. On Alexander's latter Conquests and Death - - . - 340 

11. On the Affairs of Greece during the Reigns of Alexander's 

Successors 351 

12. On Agis and Cleomenes, the Spartan Reformers - - - 360 

13. On the Achaean League 370 

14. On the Destruction of Corinth, and final Conquest of 

Greece by the Romans 379 

15. On the latter Philosophers, Poets, Orators, and Artists of 

Greece - 386 

HISTORICAL QUESTIONS 397 

INDEX - - - 405 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



IX 



they, by a divine blessing, be rendered subser- 
vient, in however small a degree, to the genuine 
interests of pure and undefiled Religion, by ex- 
tending the knowledge of Him, " whom to know 
is life eternal." 

St, Neots, November 2H, 1820. 



b 



THE HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



FROM ITS EARLIEST PERIOD, TO THE COMMENCEMENT 
OF THE PERSIAN WAR. 



ESSAY I. 

Introductory. On the Origin of the Grecian States, 

As the life of man is divided into four periods, child- 
hood, youth, manhood, and old age ; so may the History 
of Greece be considered as divided into four stages, or 
aeras of its political existence. Its infancy extends 
from the first establishment of those minor kingdoms 
or independent states, of w^hich little more than the 
names have been transmitted to posterity, to the Tro- 
jan vi^ar ; comprehending a period of about 1000 years. 
This has been usually cailQd the fabulous, or heroic 
age. The second division of Grecian History, when 
the blossoms of youth were put forth, and indications 
of its future greatness were discernible, extends from 
the Trojan to the Persian war ; including upwards of 

B 



2 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



660 years. During this period, several of the republics 
arose to considerable eminence ; some of the most dis- 
tinguished characters flourished ; and rapid progress 
was made in military science, and in those refinements 
of art, which laid the basis of future renown. The 
third period, in which it will be universally acknow- 
ledged that Greece attained the vigour and maturity 
of manhood, extends from the commencement of the 
Persian war to the death of Alexander of Macedon ; 
including only 198 years. Yet in this comparatively 
short space, a great variety of events took place, inte- 
resting both to the philosopher and statesman, and 
fraught with the most valuable instruction both to 
princes and their subjects. The concluding division, 
which may not unfitly be termed the old age of Greece, 
extends from the reign of Alexander (usually called 
the Great,) when the republics lost much of their in- 
dependence, and evidently declined in vigour, to the 
final subversion of their liberties, by their incorporation 
with the gigantic empire of Rome. This latter period 
includes 293 years, and terminates the political ex- 
istence of a country which produced more illustrious 
commanders, more profound statesmen and legislators, 
more celebrated scholars, sages, poets and artists, 
than any other country in any period of the world. 

The most diligent research of ancient and modern 
historians has not succeeded in tracing, with accuracy 
or certainty, the facts connected with the first ages of 
Greece. If they, w^ho lived many centuries nearer to 
the time when the transactions took place, and even 
resided on the same spot, found themselves bewildered 
in the mazes of conjecture, and could only relate incre- 
dible and fabulous traditions ; it were a hopeless task. 



ESSAY I. 



ORIGIN OF THE GRECIAN STATES. 



3 



at so distant a period, to attempt to separate truth 
from fable, or to furnish a detailed account of the cha- 
racters and events of that remote period. Such frag- 
ments, however, as can be collected from the huge 
mass of mythological rubbish which revolting ages 
have accumulated, it is our duty to preserve with care, 
and endeavour to apply to some useful purpose. 

Highly cultivated as the inhabitants of this cele- 
brated country afterwards became, they were at first 
rude barbarians. They consisted of some thinly- 
scattered tribes, who subsisted chiefly by hunting, fish- 
ing, or pastoral occupations. The principal of these 
native tribes were, the Pelasgi and the Hellenes. The 
Pelasgi ascribed their origin to Inachus, (who is sup- 
posed to have been contemporary with the patriarch 
Abraham,") and were for the most part settled in the 
northern provinces of Thessaly, Epirus, and Mace- 
donia. The Hellenes derived their name from Hellen, 
the son of Deucalion ; and having first settled in the 
southern and western provinces, by degrees overspread 
the greater part of Greece. Besides these native 
tribes, there were colonists from Egypt, Phoenicia, and 
diflferent parts of Asia, who were first attracted by the 
hope of gain, and afterwards induced to plant settle- 
ments on the coast, with a view either to commerce or 
plunder. The earliest of these were, Cecrops and 
Danaus from Egypt, the former of whom settled 
at Athens, the latter at Argos^ — Cadmus, who was a 
native of Phoenicia, and founded the city of Thebes — 
and Pelops, who was a Phrygian by birth, and ac- 
quired both for himself and his descendants the 
government of Peloponnesus. 

The native and foreign inhabitants mingled by 

B 2 



4 



HISTORY OF GHEECE. 



BOOK I. 



degrees. Urged by danger or necessity, they formed 
themselves into civil and political societies. They 
mutually yielded in part to each other's previous 
habits, and thus formed a new character. The un- 
cultivated native tribes learned of the adventurous 
strangers modes of civilization, and the arts of more 
polished society; while, on the other hand, the colo- 
nists caught, from the independent natives, a passion 
for liberty, the sweets of which they had never tasted 
in theregions of eastern despotism ; and acquired that 
energy of character, which is its genuine offspring. 

The religion, or rather the superstitious mythology 
of the Greeks, gradually arose during the fabulous 
ages. It seems to have been partly self-invented, and 
partly borrowed from eastern nations. Truly may 
it be said, they had " gods many and lords many 
since Hesiod, one of their own poets, who undertook 
to celebrate the genealogy of their principal divinities, 
makes them amount to 30,000 ! Every warrior of 
distinction, every hero of romance, every inventor or 
propagator of an useful art, was enrolled amongst the 
host of imaginary gods and goddesses ; those not ex- 
cepted, who were most notorious for their vices, and 
whose cruelties had inspired universal terror and 
abhorrence. Though as yet no splendid temple was 
erected to their memory — though no golden altars, 
or exquisitely-carved statues, as yet decorated and 
enriched the edifices, consecrated to their idolatrous 
worship — nor any costly gifts were offered at their 
shrines — yet rude images of wood or stone were set 
up, and worshipped amidst the umbrageous gloom of 
forests, which the " god of their idolatry " was sup- 
posed to inhabit; and uncouth altars of earth streamed 



ESSAY I. ORIGIN OF THE GRECIAN STATES. 



5 



with the blood of slaughtered victims, or with copious 
libations of the fruit of the vine. 

The governments of ancient Greece were, at first, 
monarchical, but not despotic. They were of very 
limited extent, and wholly independent of each other. 
The earliest of these was the kingdom of Sicyon, 
founded by iEgialeus, 2089 years before the Christian 
aera. It was situate in the northern part of Pelo- 
ponnesus, and is supposed tohavebeenof small extent. 
Though it lasted 1000 years, history has left no records 
respecting it that possess any interest. Scarcely any 
thing, indeed, has been preserved, but the names of 
its kings, and the order of their reigns. 

Argos next arose under the auspices of Inachus, 
1856 years before Christ. This kingdom also was 
situate in Peloponnesus, and though at first inconsi- 
derable, was greatly enlarged by some of its subse- 
quent princes. In the reign, as some say, of Acrisius, 
and others, of Perseus, the seat of government was 
transferred from the city of Argos to Mycenae, by 
which name the kingdom was afterwards designated. 
The next in the order of time was Athens, founded 
by Cecrops, A. C. 1556. This first king of Athens is 
chiefly known to posterity as the institutor of the 
celebrated court of Areopagus, as was Amphictyon, 
one of his successors, for having formed that confe- 
deracy of the Grecian states, which, under the name 
of the council of Amphictyons, acquired so great an 
influence in their general concerns^. 

Sparta or Lacedaemon was the next of these king- 
doms, small in its commencement, obscure in its 



* Book I, Essay 15. 



6 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



origin, but destined to overthrow mighty monarchies, 
and convulse the world. Lelex is supposed to have 
been its first king, A. C. 1516 ; but soon after his 
reign, the form of its government was changed from 
a monarchy to a diarchy ^ or joint administration of 
two kings: this singular form of government, how- 
ever unprecedented in history, and most unlikely to 
prove permanent, lasted several centuries. It began 
with the two sons of Aristodemus, Eurysthenes and 
Procles, who, instead of dividing their father's king- 
dom, agreed to reign jointly with equal authority ; and 
continued under a succession of thirty princes of the 
line of Eurysthenes, and twenty-seven of that of Pro- 
cles, terminating with both branches about the same 
time. The kingdom of Thebes, or as it was after- 
wards called Boeotia, was next founded by Cadmus, 
A. C. 1455. To him the Greeks were chiefly indebted 
for their knowledge of the alphabetical mode of writ- 
ing : sixteen of the letters in the Greek alphabet are 
ascribed to him. 

Corinth, after having been for some time tributary 
to the kings of Mycenae, became an independent king- 
dom under Sisyphus, the son of iEolus, and grand- 
father of Ulysses, A. C. 1376. It afterwards passed 
through several hands, from the descendants of Sisy- 
phus to those of Hercules; and again, from the pos- 
terity of Hercules to the family of Bacchis; after 
these, it was governed by annual magistrates, called 
Prytanes ; and, at length, became once more an abso- 
lute monarchy under Cypselus, whose son Periander 
was one of the seven Grecian sages. The last of these 
kingdoms that claims particular notice is Macedonia. 
The period of its commencement is uncertain, but it is 



ESSAY I. ORIGIN OF THE GRECIAN STATES. 



7 



generally agreed that the first king of Macedon was 
Ceranus. The zenith of its prosperity was during the 
reigns of Philip and Alexander ; it terminated with 
the defeat of Perseus by the Romans. Besides these, 
there were several other states of less importance, 
whose origin and progress it is not necessary to inves- 
tigate minutely. Among these lesser ramifications of 
Greece were the kingdoms of Elis, iEtolia, Locris, 
Doris, Thessaly, Arcadia, and Achaia. With these 
may also be classed the Grecian colonies in Asia Minor, 
which were known by the common name of lonians. 

Consult on the subject of this Essay, Strab. Geograph. Apollod. 
lib. 1, et seq. Diodor. Sieul. lib. 1. Pausan. in Boeotic. Argolic. 
^•c. S,'c. Hesiod. Theogon. 



REFLECTIONS. 

From the cursory retrospect which has been now 
taken of the earliest state of Greece, it must be obvi- 
ous to every reflective mind, that results the most 
unexpected and important to mankind, have frequently 
grown out of the smallest circumstances, and been 
brought about by the most unlikely instruments. 
What more convincing evidence can be desired by the 
rational and devout inquirer, that " verily there is a 
God who judgeth in the earth," 

*' Who overrules all mortal things, 
And manages our mean affairs ? " 

Nor is it less evident that kingdoms, as well as indi- 
viduals, have their prescribed limits, which are fixed 



8 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



ROOK I. 



by Him, at whose command empires rise and fall, 
flourish and decay." Men of talents and authority 
may exert all their feeble powers, to give stability to 
the governments they have devised and constituted. 
They may adopt every measure which policy or wis- 
dom suggests, to perpetuate their schemes. They 
may enact such laws as seem calculated most effectu- 
ally to guard against those corruptions, which have 
accelerated the fall of other states. They may mark 
out a long line of succession, in which the crown and 
sceptre shall descend to distant ages. And having, as 
they fondly imagined, secured every part, they may 
flatter themselves that the structure they have raised, 
will be coeval with time and nature. But, whilst 
they are exulting in their imaginary success, how 
often does the King of kings and Lord of lords blast 
their proudest expectations, and scatter with the 
breath of his mouth both them and their projects, 
** like the chaff which the wind driveth away." 

To the Christian moralist, how convincing a proof 
does the early state of Greece afford, of the humiliating 
but scriptural doctrine of human depravity. It is 
manifest that in every stage of society, from complete 
barbarism to the highest possible degree of refinement, 
man is still the same degraded and fallen creature. It 
has, indeed, been asserted in modern times, that the 
crimes which abound in the world are not so much the 
fruits of a depraved nature, as the consequences of ex- 
tended intercourse between man and man. The child 
of nature has been represented as pure and innocent, 
a stranger to those vile passions and immoral habits, 
which prevail in a more advanced state of society. 
But look at this child of nature, as he appears in the 



ESSAY I. ORIGIN OF THE GRECIAN STATES. 



9 



preceding sketch of the half-barbarized state of 
Greece ! Is he not really and morally the same as his 
more polished descendants? Do not the same vile 
affections govern him ? Is he not impelled by avarice 
or ambition to the same deeds of injustice and op- 
pression ? Does not the same gross superstition hold 
him in bondage ? Are not the same infamous and 
sanguinary rites practised by him, under the name of 
religion, vv^hich during so many ages, disgraced the 
vrisest of his posterity ? Yes, it vras in this boasted 
state of native purity, that " the glory of the incor- 
ruptible God v^as changed into an image made like to 
corruptible man, and to birds and four-footed beasts, 
and creeping things ! " 

It was in this immaculate period of society, that *' they 
v^rere filled v^ith all unrighteousness, and gave them- 
selves up to all uncleanness." Melancholy as the re- 
flection is, it must not be concealed, that such is our 
degenerate race in every period of time, in every part 
of the world, in every stage of society, until renewed 
and purified by the influence of genuine piety. 

The review of antiquity is, indeed, in many respects, 
calculated to abase the pride of man. Through the 
dim mist that hangs over former and far distant ages, 
scarcely can we discern characters since deemed most 
illustrious, and events once considered most deeply 
interesting. Where are Sicyon, or Thebes, Argos, or 
Troy ? Can even their ruins be found ? or if some of 
these can be indistinctly traced by the antiquarian, 
where is their former splendour and power ? What is 
become of all the political influence they once pos- 
sessed amongst the nations? How many names that 
were once pre-eminent are now forgotten ! The vie- 



10 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK 1. 



tories they won, the monarchies they founded or over- 
threw, together with the frail records of their exploits — 
all these have been long since torn from the scroll of 
fame by the ruthless hand of time. Of many others there 
remains but a tedious detail of their names and race, 
with the places of their birth and death ; whilst the 
splendid deeds, that gained them the applause of un- 
numbered myriads, are swept into the gulf of obli- 
vion. Yet these, in their day, were as famous as they, 
who, in later times, have entered the lists of fame, and 
in the pride of their hearts, have supposed their names 
would prove immortal. It cannot be too deeply im- 
pressed upon our minds that immortality is the gift, 
not of man, but of God, and that the honour which is 
unfading, is not that which men " receive one of 
another," but that which "comes from God only." 

From the transient and mutable kingdoms of this 
world, which like so many pageants have passed in 
quick succession, it is truly delightful to turn our eyes 
to that " kingdom which cannot be moved," and con- 
template His eternal and universal dominion, "whose 
years fail not." Compared with the splendour of his 
crown, the stability of his throne, the extent of his 
dominion, and the duration of his kingdom, all the 
diadems and sceptres, the thrones and powers of this 
world, are less than nothing and vanity : they are fading 
as the flower of the grass, transient as the shadow that 
flits across the plain, and frail as the moth that is 
crushed before the wind. Nor does this sentence of 
mortality—this tendency to dissolution — attach merely 
to temporal kingdoms. The visible heavens and earth 
shall ere long pass away. " They shall be rolled toge- 
ther as a scroll," or folded up as a worn-out vesture. 



ESSAY II. 



MINOS 



11 



Yet amidst the general desolation, amidst the total 
wreck of nature, the throne of Jehovah will stand un- 
shaken, for "his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, 
and his dominion endureth throughout all generations." 



ESSAY 11, 

On the Character and Laws of Minos, the Cretan 
Legislator, 

FLOURISHED A. C. 1406. 

None of all the Grecian states seem to have made 
so rapid a progress towards civilization, or to have ex- 
perienced so early the advantages of a well-regulated 
government, as the kingdom of Crete s. This may be 
ascribed to various causes, which conspired to produce 
such a pre-eminence of national character. The in- 
sular situation of this ancient kindom obliged its in- 
habitants to seek foreign resources. These could only 
be obtained from the provinces of Asia Minor, or the 
more remote nations of the East, with whom there- 
fore it became necessary to maintain a constant com- 
mercial intercourse. The result was an imitation of 
those habits of life, useful arts, and modes of go- 
vernment, by which more civilized nations had risen 
to so great wealth and power. It was, besides, the 
happiness of the Cretans to be protected by their in- 
sular situation from the ferocious incursions of barba- 
rians, and those contentions between neighbouring 



12 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



states, which retarded the progress of moral and po- 
litical science in the Grecian peninsula. 

But the early superiority of the Cretan monarchy is 
chiefly to be ascribed to the wise policy, and the mild, 
but vigorous administration of Minos, who seems to 
have far surpassed all his contemporaries in genius 
and wisdom ; whose laws not only had a beneficial in- 
fluence on his own kingdom, but tended gradually to 
ameliorate the whole of Greece. As there were two 
princes of this name, who reigned at different peribds 
in Crete, it seems necessary to premise, that Minos 
the legislator was the father of Deucalion, who was 
one of the chiefs that embarked in the Argonautic ex- 
pedition, and the grandfarfer of Idomeneus, who sig- 
nalized himself in the Trojan war. When he ascended 
the throne, he found anarchy spreading its baneful in- 
fluence over the island, and threatening its destruc- 
tion. He felt that nothing would be effectual to save 
it from ruin, but an entire renovation of the state. A 
new code of laws was obviously necessary to restrain 
excesses, correct abuses, and give to his administra- 
tion order, stability, and success. In conjunction 
therefore with his brother Rhadanlanthus, he under- 
took and executed the arduous task of legislation. The 
principle on which he set out, and which formed the 
basis of his whole system of jurisprudence, was, that 
the only way to render his government secure, and his 
subjects happy, was to form them to habits of virtue." 
This enlightened prince perceived that idleness and 
luxury are fruitful sources of vice, and therefore en- 
deavoured to remove these evils by rewarding indus- 
try, and encouraging habits of self-denial and frugality. 
As the best means of affording permanent employment 



ESSAY II. 



MINOS. 



13 



to ail his subjects, he brought the science of agriculture 
into high reputation and general practice. Convinced 
of the importance of education, Minos enacted laws, 
by which it was provided that the poor as well as the 
rich should partake equally of its advantages. He de- 
creed that the children in every city should be brought 
up together, and that those of all classes should be in- 
structed in the same maxims, exercises, and arts. They 
were as soon as possible to be impressed with a vene- 
ration for the laws of their country, and the worship 
of the gods. They were commanded to honour age 
and magistracy ; nor was it permitted to any one in 
their presence to mention the defects of the aged, or of 
persons in authority, lest it should diminish the re- 
spect and veneration they claimed. They were inured 
in their tenderest years to hardships and privations ; 
accustomed to suffer hunger and thirst, cold and heat; 
constrained to walk over steep and rugged places with 
unshodden feet; taught to skirmish with each other 
in small parties, and exercise themselves in a martial 
dance, (afterwards called the Phyrric,) which was de- 
signed to give strength ^d agility to their members, 
and thus'prepare th^ for the dangers and fatigues of 
war. 

Minos first instituted public meals, at which the ci- 
tizens met without distinction of rank, and frugally 
partook of such provisions as were furnished daily by 
the state. In that early period of society the influ- 
Q^nce-of such an institution, simple as it may appear, 
was greater than it is easy to imagine. It checked the 
progress of despotism, cemented early and lasting 
friendships, cherished habits of sobriety and frugality, 
disseminated knowledge amongst all classes, and stimu- 



14 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



lated to a generous emulation, an ennobling ambition. 
Nor can we wonder that such effects should follow, 
when we are informed, that the time occupied by these 
repasts was devoted also to the higher purposes of 
communicating instruction to youth. They whose age 
or public services had obtained for them an honour- 
able precedence, discoursed on the virtues and ex- 
ploits of their ancestors, and exhorted their children 
to form themselves on such illustrious models. 

Slavery, (which has more or less prevailed in every 
part of the world where Christianity is unknown ; and, 
to the disgrace of nations denominated Christians, has 
even been cherished and perpetuated amongst them,) 
seems to have assumed its mildest form under the go- 
vernment of Minos. According to the usual mode of 
warfare in those days, conquered countries were en- 
slaved, and prisoners were deemed the property of 
their captors. But the institutions of the Cretan le- 
gislator expressly prohibited cruelty and injustice to 
slaves, and inculcated humanity and kindness on their 
masters. Once a year, viz., at the feast of Mercury, 
it was required of masters to exchange conditions with 
their slaves, and perform the same offices for them, 
which they were accustomed during the rest of the 
year to receive. 

Under the auspices of this justly-celebrated prince, 
the kingdom of Crete flourished ; many adjacent islands 
were annexed to it ; many splendid victories were ob- 
tained over foreign foes ; and domestic peace was en- 
joyed. The reputation of Minos and his laws quickly 
spread through Greece. During his reign, many dis- 
tinguished strangers visited his court, for the avowed 
purpose of studying his civil and political institutions. 



ESSAY 11. 



MINOS. 



15 



that they might communicate them to their fellow- 
citizens. Among these, Theseus, the son of ^geus, 
king of Athens, is most celebrated, who was treated 
with the most affectionate hospitality by the aged 
monarch, and fully instructed in all his principles of 
government. Many years after, Lycurgus of Sparta vi- 
sited Crete for the same purpose, and borrowed thence 
many of those regulations, he introduced into the 
Spartan code. It is, however, painful to be informed 
by the concurring testimony of sacred and profane his_ 
tory, that the inhabitants of Crete, notwithstanding 
their early cultivation and peculiar advantages, after- 
wards degenerated so as to become the most vicious in 
their moral character, and most degraded in political 
rank of all the Grecian states. Luxury and avarice, 
falsehood and injustice, characterized them, and while 
the name of their distinguished lawgiver was trans- 
mitted to posterity with professional veneration, his 
laws were utterly disregarded, and his virtues for- 
gotten or despised. 

Plat, de Leg-ib. et in Minoe. Aristot. Polit. Plut. in Theseo. 
Thucydid, lib. 1 



REFLECTIONS. 

The brief records of the character and laws of 
Minos, scattered through the writings of ancient poets, 
philosophers, and historians, which have been collected 
together in this essay, suggest a great variety of useful 
remarks. They are calculated to impress the mind with 
the importance of wise and equal laws, to the improve- 



16 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



ment of society — to the freedom and prosperity of an 
. empire. An illusive splendour may surround the de- 
spot, who rules by the sword, and inspires terror, as 
far as his power extends ; but that alone is true glory, 
which surrounds a throne established by justice, and 
which proceeds from a wise administration of those 
laws, which are designed at once to uphold the autho- 
rity of the prince, and guard the liberties of his sub- 
jects. Happy are they who live under such a mild and 
beneficent government ! Happy they who participate 
in the advantages of just laws, and reap from them 
the fruits of order, of peace, and of civil liberty. 
While the trembling slaves of despotism remain de- 
graded in their moral character, and, far from im- 
proving in their condition, sink yet lower in the scale 
of society ; these sons of freedom, reposing beneath the 
shade of an upright administration, warmed and 
cheered by the genial influence of liberty, rapidly ad- 
vance in all that elevates and adorns the national cha- 
racter. 

A second obvious but important reflection to which 
the subject of this essay leads us, is, the beneficial 
influence of a general system of education, from the 
advantages of which no part of the community shall 
be excluded. It had been well if all subsequent ages 
had imbibed the wisdom, and profited by the example 
of the enlightened lawgiver of Crete, for such (con- 
sidering the period in which he lived) he must be ac- 
knowledged to have been. We should not then have 
seen ignorance perpetuated from age to age, among 
the lower classes of society. None would then have 
been so hardy as to contend for the propriety of main- 
taining subordination, by excluding a great proportion 



ESSAY II. 



MINOS. 



17 



of their fellow-creatures from the benefits of know- 
ledge. The rulers of the earth would then have ar- * 
rived at a conviction that the most effectual means of 
restraining vice, preventing anarchy, ameliorating the 
condition of their subjects, and consolidating their 
own authority, is to impart to all the advantages of 
moral and religious instruction. It is however grati- 
fying to observe, that this conviction is rapidly pro- 
gressive. This fundamental principle is better under- 
stood, and more generally acted upon than at any 
former period of the world ; unprecedented efforts are 
making to disseminate amongst all classes, throughout 
the world, that knowledge more especially by which 
the most ignorant are made " wise to salvation." 

It did not escape the penetrating mind of Minos, that 
there is an intimate, a necessary, an inseparable con- 
nexion between virtue and happiness, and that habits 
of industry and self-denial are most favourable to hu- 
man enjoyment. But how much more fully are these 
maxims revealed in the Sacred Scriptures ! How in- 
excusable are they, who, amidst the superior means of 
knowledge which Christianity affords, remain wil- 
lingly ignorant of these first principles of moral truth', 
it is not necessary to appeal to the institutions of 
Minos, in order to prove that avarice is the root of all 
evil ; or that sensuality is inimical to human happi- 
ness, and entails " a sad variety of woe." For we have 
" a more sure word of prophecy," an infallible stand- 
ard of truth, to which we ought ever to give " the 
most earnest heed" The sacred institutions of the 
Most High are designed to ensure the happiness of 
man by rendering him holy. They forbid every sinful 
indulgence, because it is destructive to the soul. They 
inculcate universal holiness, because it is essential 

c 



18 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



both to present and future felicity. They instruct us 
on the one hand, that the way of transgressors is 
hard," and on the other, that he makes the wisest 
choice who chooses rather to suffer affliction with 
the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin 
for a season." 

The inspired Volume contains decisive proof of the 
degeneracy and infamy of the Cretans in a subsequent 
period of their history. For the apostle Paul in writ- 
ing to Titus, who was pastor of the christian church 
planted in that island, describes in few words their 
character and vices, citing the words of Epimenides, 
one of their own poets, who had represented them as 
a wretched compound of falsehood and cruelty, indo- 
lence and luxury. *' The Cretans,'* said he, " are 
always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies." *' This wit- 
ness," adds the apostle from his own observation, 
" this witness is true." Nor indeed can we wonder 
that the restraint of human laws, however wise and 
good, or the memory of any name known amongst 
men, however venerable or illustrious, should be too 
feeble to stem the torrent of vice, or check the progress 
of human depravity, since even the pure and perfect 
laws of Jehovah are openly violated, and his vene- 
rable name is blasphemed daily, even by those who 
profess to acknowledge his supremacy ; since the con- 
sciousness of his all-seeing eye, his all-surrounding 
presence, and of their own responsibility — in addition 
to the warnings of an inward monitor that proclaims, 
" for all these things, know thou that God will bring 
thee unto judgment" — all these fail to restrain the 
multitudes that do evil, from following the path of 
the destroyer, or induce them to flee from the wrath 
to come !" 



ESSAV III. THE ARGONAUTS. 19 



ESSAY III. 

On the Argonautic Expedition. 

ABOUT A.C. 1263. 

The next object of general interest that is dimly 
discerned by the twilight of fabulous history, is the 
expedition of the Argonauts. Disguised as the cir- 
cumstances of this voyage have been by the incredible 
fictions of the poets, it can scarcely be doubted that 
some such event did really take place ; that it was the 
first maritime exploit of the Greeks ; and that it not 
only rendered the individuals famous who performed 
it, but had a powerful and permanent influence on the 
future character of the country. When the veil of 
allegory with which it has been covered is removed, 
the undisguised narrative will be found to possess a 
high degree of interest ; partly as making known at 
how early a period the Greeks had made considerable 
progress in the arts of navigation, and how soon they 
began to confederate for the purpose of carrying on 
offensive as well as defensive wars ; and partly as af- 
fording us an introduction to many of those distin- 
guished heroes, whose names were familiar to us in 
childhood and youth. With this expedition the far- 
famed Hercules commenced his career of perilous la- 
bour and martial glory. Here the fathers of Ajax 
and Achilles, of Diomedes and Idomeneus, were ini- 
tiated in those arts of destruction which their chil- 
dren inherited, and of which they gave such fatal 

2 



20 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



proofs on the plains of Troy. Here too iEsculapius, 
the father of the healing art, and Orpheus, the most 
ancient of the poets of Greece, together with the 
flower of its nobility and warriors, were assembled, 
under the banners of Jason, a prince of Thessaly, 
whom they elected as their leader. 

The objects of this expedition seem to have been, 
in the first instance, to clear the coast of pirates, who 
infested the Euxine and Propontis, and obstructed 
their commerce, — then, to visit foreign lands, and 
plant colonies in the most eligible stations — and finally, 
to plunder Colchis, where they had heard the golden 
fleece was to be found, or more probably where gold 
dust, collected by means of fleeces of wool, might be 
obtained in great abundance, and whence slaves might 
be obtained by force or guile. Whilst the desire of re- 
venge instigated some, and the hope of gain impelled 
others, to embark in this perilous undertaking, it 
seems most probable that the illustrious youth, who 
assembled from all parts of Greece, were chiefly urged 
by a rude and undefined ambition, which thirsted for 
glory, without regard to the means by which it might 
be obtained. They were animated by a romantic and 
chivalrous spirit, which roved in search of dangers as 
the path to honour, and which panted after the phan- 
tom Fame, though surrounded by all the terrors of 
death. 

In pursuance of these designs, a fleet was collected 
at lolcus in Thessaly, consisting of a considerable 
number of small vessels, and one ship of larger di- 
mensions and superior construction, which was named 
Argo, after Argus its builder, from which circum- 
stance jail who embarked in the expedition were 



ESSAY III. 



THE ARGONAUTS. 



21 



called Argonauts. In the course of their voyage they 
touched at Lemnos, visited several places on the 
shores of the Euxine, and after having encountered 
many dangers both by sea and land, arrived at Col- 
chis, the place of their destination. All that can be 
collected w^ith any degree of certainty respecting the 
issue of ttie voyage, is, that the Argonauts fought, 
conquered, and plundered, carrying away with them 
much spoil and many captives, among whom was the 
celebrated, but infamous Medea. Their injustice 
has been palliated, and even their crimes vindicated by 
some, who have represented the whole expedition as an 
act of reprisal, a just and suitable retribution for inju- 
ries they had received from the inhabitants of those 
countries ; but it is too evident that, both in ancient 
and modern times, justice has had little to do with the 
wars that are carried on in the world ; and that when- 
ever ambition or avarice prompt to deeds of injustice, 
pretexts are not wanting for perpetrating them. Jason 
and his followers might indeed profess to be actuated 
by motives of revenge, which the heathen considered 
both lawful and honourable, but it is easy to perceive 
that while they punished piracy in others, they them- 
selves practised it — and while they accused others of 
rapine and violence, they did not hesitate to plunder 
the unprotected and unoffending inhabitants of Colchis. 

The ultimate consequences of this undertaking were 
far more important than the expedition itself. From 
that time Greece began to abound with warlike chiefs, 
who panted after fame as the chief good, and accounted 
no labours too arduous to be endured in pursuit of this 
visionary good. From that time a spirit of bold ad- 
venture pervaded both the higher and lower classes. 



22 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



who were no longer satisfied with defending their own 
territories, but with restless activity sought occasions 
of displaying their martial prowess. From that time, 
political confederacies were frequently formed between 
contiguous states for purposes that affected their ge- 
neral interests, or promised mutual advantage. Emu- 
lation was more powerfully excited amongst the leaders 
of the people, and confidence of victory inspired those 
who enlisted under their banners. In a word, this ex- 
ploit may be considered as the foundation-stone, on 
which the stately column of military glory was erected, 
which was afterwards decorated with the splendid 
trophies of Marathon, Plataea, and Thermopylae. 

Herod, lib. 1. Diodor. Sicul. lib. 4. Hesiod, Oper. 



REFLECTIONS. 

Of all the arts invented by human ingenuity, none is 
capable of being applied to more valuable uses, yet 
none perhaps has been more frequently perverted, than 
the art of navigation. It appears from the facts just 
mentioned, that, in its rudest state, it was a pander to 
lawless ambition and avarice ; and since it has risen 
to its present highly improved state, it is too com- 
monly applied to purposes of rapine and injustice. It 
has unhappily proved in too many instances, a curse 
rather than a blessing to the human race. At distant 
intervals, indeed, vessels have been launched for voy- 
ages of discovery, scientific researches, or benevolent 
attempts to civilize and instruct remote nations in 
Christian principles ; but how few are these, compared 



ESSAY III. 



THE ARGONAUTS. 



23 



with the thousands that annually cleave the billows, 
freighted with human misery, or destined to the work 
of destruction? How many of the adventurous voy- 
agers, who brave the perils of the mighty deep, are 
impelled alone by that degrading passion, which an in- 
spired writer has declared to be " the root of all 
evil*!" 

That an assemblage of heathen warriors, who had 
scarcely emerged from barbarism, should wage wars 
for the sole purpose of plunder, and seize with unjust 
violence the defenceless and unoffending inhabitants 
of foreign climes, excites no surprise; but could it 
be believed, if the hateful spectacle had not been 
so often exhibited, that men calling themselves Chris- 
tians, and who boast of their civilization and re- 
finement, should fit out vessels, having no other 
destination than to traffic in human blood ! — that 
they should annually tear away, from their beloved 
homes and endeared connexions, thousands of the 
helpless and unoffending natives of Africa, and de- 
liberately doom them to pine and perish beneath 
the galling yoke of slavery — and that all this san- 
guinary violence should be sanctioned for ages, as 
legitimate commerce ; and, by being protected, become 
a species of legalized murder ! It must surely be ad- 
mitted by all, who are not total strangers to the bene- 

* It is hoped none who read the foreg-oing- reflections will con- 
sider them as implying- an unqualified and indiscriminate censure of 
foreign wars or lawful commerce. Circumstances may arise, how- 
ever much they are to be deplored, that render it a measure of safety 
to embark in foreig-n expeditions. The British navy has been 
(under God) the bulwark of our land. And commerce, when car- 
ried on with integ-rity, and a due regard to the golden rule wliich our 
Divine Master has left us, is to be encouraged, as a powerful incen- 
tive to industry, and an honourable source of gain. 



24 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK 1. 



volent spirit of the Gospel, that the guilt of the Argo- 
nauts was light, compared with that of professed 
Christians, who enslave their brethren of the human 
race. Far more tolerable will it be in the day of judg- 
ment for the most ferocious barbarians, than for these 
sons of violence and oppression. For the former had 
never heard of the mild and benevolent precepts of the 
gospel of Christ, so calculated to avv^aken the kindest 
and tender est emotions. Never had it been their pri- 
vilege to listen to the soothing accents of that sacred 
word, which proclaims " liberty to the captives, and 
the opening of the prison to them that are bound." 
But the latter have not only heard, but profess to have 
received, that Gospel which announces peace on 
earth, good- will toward men," and requires that we 
do to all, as we would they should do to us." 

Thanks be to God, this reproach is at length rolled 
away from Britain. That horrors of the African slave 
trade are no longer sanctioned by British laws and 
British legislators. That iniquitous traffic can no longer 
be carried on with impunity by the subjects of this 
empire, and a pleasing hope is excited, that ere long it 
will cease for ever. Still more gratifying is the antici- 
pation, founded on prophecies and promises, that the 
time will assuredly come, when it will be manifest to 
all, that the arts of navigation have ultimately prov- 
ed an invaluable blessing to mankind — when every 
whitening sail will be a harbinger of mercy to the ends 
of the earth — when every vessel that floats upon the 
surface of the deep will be freighted with precious 
stores of revealed truth — when every wind of heaven 
shall waft some messenger of peace to them that 
were ready to perish." 



ESSAY IV. 



THE TROJAN WAR. 



25 



ESSAY IV. 
The Destruction of Troy. 
A. C. 1184. 

The Trojan war forms a distinguished £era in 
Ancient History, on which account, as well as many 
others, it deserves our particular attention. The con- 
current testimony of poets and historians of former 
ages, confirmed by the investigations of modern tra- 
vellers, leave no room to doubt of the reality of this 
event. It gave rise to two of the most sublime and 
exquisitely beautiful epic poems the world has ever 
seen, — poems which must continue to be admired, so 
long as mankind are capable of appreciating the 
mightiest efforts of genius, and the most towering 
flights of imagination. It introduces us to an ac- 
quaintance with the names, characters, and achieve- 
ments of many of the most distinguished princes of 
Greece then living. It is especially important, as af- 
fording an early specimen of that political alliance 
between the independent states of Greece, in which 
their future strength consisted, and which ultimately 
enabled them to triumph over the colossal power of 
Persia. 

The kingdom of Troas was of considerable extent; 
some say it extended more than 200 miles, besides 
many smaller states, that were either tributary to its 
kings, or in alliance with them. Its first king was 
Dardanus, who founded its capital, the celebrated city 



26 



HISTORY OP GREECE. BOOK I. 



of Troy, which was afterwards strongly fortified by 
Laomedon, the father of Priam. The wall and in- 
trenchments, by which this city was surrounded, were 
so strong, that the poets speak of them as the work of 
the gods, to denote their superiority to any fortifica- 
tions previously erected. Strong however as they 
were, they were destined to be but of short continu- 
ance. In the reign of Priam, its fifth king, the feuds 
which had long secretly fermented between the ances- 
tors of Priam, and those of Agamemnon, the king of 
Mycenae, burst into a flame, which proved almost 
equally ruinous to the Greeks and Trojans. It was oc- 
casioned by the licentious conduct of Paris, a younger 
son of Priam, and the infidelity of Helen, the beautiful, 
but infamous wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta. The 
former, after having been hospitably and honourably 
entertained by the Spartan chief, ungratefully re- 
turned his courtesy by seducing the affections of his 
queen ; while the latter, unmindful of her marriage 
vows, and throwing off* that chastity which constitutes 
the moral beauty of the sex, yielded to the solicitations 
of the Trojan prince, and consented to accompany 
him to Troy. 

All the Grecian chiefs, having been informed of the 
injury done to Menelaus, assembled at ^gium in 
Achaia to deliberate on the means of avenging it. 
They agreed to furnish their respective quotas towards 
fitting out a numerous fleet and grand army, for the 
invasion of Troas, and reduction of its capital. The 
number of vessels employed in this expedition, (for 
they can scarcely be called ships,) are said to amount 
to 1200, each of which contained from 50 to 100 men ; 
and the army consisted of upwards of 100,000 chosen 



ESSAY IV. THE TROJAN WAR. 



27 



warriors. This armament, placed by common consent 
under the command of Agamemnon, the brother of 
Menelaus, embarked from Aulis in Boeotia, and arrived 
safely in the Hellespont, which washed the walls of 
Troy,and bounded on the west the kingdom of Priam. At 
first, considerable success attended the Grecian arms ; 
many cities of Troas were taken and plundered ; many 
captives and immense treasures were collected ; and, 
flushed with^rictory, the invading army sat down be- 
fore the Trojan capital. Here, however, the train of 
their conquests was broken, and the progress of the 
war became tedious and adverse to the Grecian allies. 
This reverse was partly occasioned by the necessity of 
dividing their forces to obtain supplies for so large an 
army ; partly by the determined bravery of Hector and 
his Trojan forces ; and chiefly by the dissensions which 
arose among the Grecian chiefs, in consequence of 
which some of the bravest commanders withdrew their 
detachments for a time from the field of battle. During 
nine years the contest remained in suspense, many san- 
guinary battles having been fought with almost equal 
success, and many celebrated warriors having fallen 
on both sides. In the beginning of the tenth year of 
this calamitous and protracted war, a dreadful pesti- 
lence committed such ravages in the Grecian camp, 
that they almost resolved to relinquish the undertaking 
as hopeless, but were dissuaded from re-embarking 
by the remonstrances of Diomedes, the eloquence of 
Nestor, and the artifices of Ulysses. 

The war was at length terminated by a stratagem. 
After the death of both Hector and Achilles, Ulysses 
contrived by a subtle artifice to introduce a small but 
valiant band of Greeks into the city, who opened the 



28 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK !• 



gates by night to their comrades, and reduced to ashes 
all its magnificent palaces and venerable structures. 
It was a scene of alarm which none but those who have 
themselves witnessed the horrors of a midnight as- 
sault, can imagine ; thousands of defenceless inhabi- 
tants were destroyed by fire or sword, and, (according 
to the pathetic representation of Virgil,) the hoary- 
headed monarch, after having been eye-witness to the 
slaughter of several of his sons, was cruelly murdered 
in his palace by Pyrrhus. 

Nor were the results of this memorable conflict less 
tragical to the victors than to the vanquished. Several 
detachments of the Grecian fleet were dispersed by 
storms on their return, and either driven by contrary 
winds on inhospitable shores, or dashed in pieces 
amongst rocks and quick-sands. Some of the chiefs 
who had escaped the perils of the war, never reached 
their homes ; and others, on their arrival, found their 
dominions in a state of lawless anarchy, their thrones 
occupied by usurpers, and the affections of their sub- 
jects completely alienated. A small number of Trojans, 
who escaped the general wreck of their country, at- 
tached themselves to iEneas, and set sail in quest of a 
more peaceful habitation, where they might found a 
second Troy. After a tedious and perilous voyage they 
arrived at Carthage, where they found a colony of 
Tyrians occupied with building that famous city, which 
afterwards disputed with Rome the empire of the 
world. From Carthage, Mnesis and his companions 
proceeded to Italy, where they settled, and laid the 
basis of the flourishing city and far-famed republic of 
Rome. 

Thucyd. lib. 1. Horner. Iliad. Virgil. iEneid. Strabo. Geogr. 



ESSAY IV. 



THE TROJAN WAR. 



29 



REFLECTIONS. 

The history of the siege and capture of Troy fur- 
nishes an impressive comment on those words of the 
apostle James — " Whence come wars and fightings 
among you ? come they not hence, even of the lusts that 
war in your members?" James iv. 1. What a destruc- 
tive flame did the licentious, unbridled passions of an 
individual enkindle ! To what a fearful train of miseries 
did they lead ! However the profligate Paris, whose 
crimes desolated his country, and brought down the 
hoary hairs of his parent with sorrow to the grave, 
might exult for a time in the success of his iniquitous 
schemes, and boast of the prize he had unlawfully ob- 
tained; his triumph was short, but his infamy certain 
and perpetual. Though hardened by the practice of 
sin, it can scarcely be imagined that even he was so 
lost to all sense of shame and remorse, as to view, 
with cold insensibility, the tremendous consequences 
of his crimes. Surely some pangs of unavailing re- 
gret must have been felt, when he saw the streets of 
Troy flowing down with blood — the blood of his near- 
est relatives — ^the blood of a venerable parent. It 
were well if those who are in danger of being betrayed 
by their passions into acts of criminal indulgence, 
were first to pause and reflect on the probable conse- 
quences of listening to temptation ; if they were to 
take into the account what distresses they may be the 
guilty instruments of bringing on others, as well as 
the ignominy and ruin in which they will involve them- 
selves ; if they were to consider that such momentary 
gratifications (if indeed they can be called such) will 



30 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



cause the hearts of many to bleed, plant with thorns 
their dying pillow, and bear swift witness against 
them before the tribunal of the Most High ! 

Even heathen poets, in celebrating this event, teach 
us, through the medium of mythological fiction, that 
virtue must ultimately triumph over vice, however ar- 
duous and severe the struggle may be. For they repre- 
sent luxury, sensuality, and illicit pleasure under the 
name of Venus, and ferocious violence under that of 
Mars, as engaged on the side of Troy ; whilst on the 
side of Greece were seen Juno, Mercury, Jupiter, and 
Minerva, names used to denote conjugal affection, 
learning combined with taste, lawful authority, and 
military science. How much more should those, who 
believe in the special providence of Jehovah, and ac- 
knowledge his universal dominion, look forward with 
confidence to the triumphs of truth and virtue, over ig- 
norance, superstition, and vice, knowing that infinite 
wisdom and almighty power are engaged on their 
behalf. 

The conduct of the Trojan war is calculated further 
to teach us on the one hand, the advantages of union ; 
and on the other, the evils of dissension. If the Greeks 
had not formed a confederacy, Troy had never been 
subdued by any one of the states separately ; if they 
had not disagreed, Troy had fallen much sooner and 
at less expense. So long as discord raged in the 
Grecian camp, the projects of their wisest counsellors 
were frustrated, and the most vigorous efforts of their 
bravest warriors rendered abortive. But when a re- 
conciliation took place between the contending chiefs, 
and their combined strength was brought to bear upon 
the common foe, the war, which had been protracted 



ESSAY IV. THE TROJAN WAR. 



31 



through ten tedious years, was quickly terminated. 
Happy were it for mankind, if this valuable lesson of 
antiquity had been read to more effect by succeeding 
generations ; then would they have learned from it to 
jay aside their mutual jealousies, and combine their 
energies for the overthrow of Satan's empire, and the 
extension of the benign influences of pure and unde- 
filed religion. 

The juvenile readers, and consequently admirers, of 
Homer and Virgil cannot be put too much on their 
guard, against the false estimate of character and mis- 
taken notions of virtue, which their sublime compo- 
sitions are likely to convey. Let them recollect that 
the heroes they celebrate and applaud acted under the 
influence of passions which Christianity condemns. 
Their boasted excellencies were but gilded vices. The 
whole basis on which the structure of their fame is 
made to rest, crumbles at the touch of Revelation. 
Ferocious and sanguinary cruelty is dignified with the 
name of valour ; anger, pride, hatred and revenge, are 
exalted to posts of honour and renown. How lament- 
ably ignorant were these illustrious sons of antiquity, 
as well as those, who, in fascinating strains, have cele- 
brated their achievements, of the lowly, benevolent and 
self-denying principles of the Gospel ! Yet many, who 
bear the christian name, imitate their examples and 
breathe their anti-christian spirit, rather than his 
whom they call Lord and Master," while in works 
they deny him." 



32 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



ESSAY V. 

The Death of Codrus, and consequent Change of the 
Athenian Government. 

A. C. 1069. 

It has been stated in a former essay*, that all the 
Grecian tribes were, in the earliest period of their his- 
tory, under monarchical government. Athens was the 
first that became dissatisfied with the regal yoke, and 
resolved, as soon as a fair occasion should off^er, to 
throw it off, and establish a form of government which 
they conceived to be more favourable to the enjoyment 
of liberty. The occasion that presented itself, with its 
more immediate and remote consequences, will form 
the principal subject of the present essay. 

After a succession of sixteen kings, of whom 
scarcely any thing is recorded, (if we except the roman- 
tic fables related by Plutarch and others, respecting 
the adventures and exploits of Theseus, the son of 
^geustj) Codrus ascended the throne, and reigned 
twenty-one years with great moderation and wisdom. 
During that period the descendants of Hercules were 
extending their conquests in every direction ; and 
after having acquired the whole of Peloponnesus, pre- 

* See Essay 1. p. 4. 

Though no credit can be given to the greater part of the extra- 
vagant tales related by the biographer of Theseus and otlier ancient 
writers, respecting him, yet as there does appear from authentic his- 
tory to have been a prince of Athens of that time, of distinguished 
courage and reputation, and as almost all the classical works in the 



ESSAY V. THE DEATH OF CODRUS. 



33 



pared to invade Attica. They were aided in this at- 
tempt by the Dorians, between whom and the Athe- 
nians mutual jealousies had long existed. 

It was then, and during many subsequent ages, the 
custom of the Greeks to consult some one of the oracles 
previously to entering upon any important or perilous 
undertaking. This was the first step necessary to be 
taken, the neglect of which, they conceived, evinced 
the grossest impiety, and ensured defeat and disap- 
pointment. In conformity to this prevailing practice, 
the Heraclidae and Dorians inquired of the Delphic 
oracle before the army destined for the invasion of 

hands of youth refer directly or indirectly to his adventures, as well 
as those of Hercules, it seems necessary to furnish the juvenile 
reader with some information respecting- him, premising only that 
the circumstances stated belong not to authentic, but to fabulous, 
or at best doubtful, history. Theseus was the son of Mgeus by 
^thra, daughter of Pittheus, one of the priests of Apollo. During^ 
his infancy and childhood he was carefully concealed by his parents, 
through fear of the ambitious sons of Pallas, the brother of ^geus, 
who aspired to the sovereignty of Athens. In early youth he seems 
to have been fired with the example of Hercules, his near relative ; 
and in imitation of him undertook several hazardous journeys, in 
quest of adventures. Nor could he travel far in that half-barbarized 
state of society without meeting- with a great variety. He is said to 
have fought with savage banditti and sanguinary monsters ; to have 
encountered the Marathonian bull, the Cretan minotaur, the Thes- 
salian centaurs, the Amazonian heroines, Sfc. Upon his father's 
death he ascended the throne, and applied himself for a time to the 
affairs of government, adopting many of those salutary regulations, 
which he had observed in the institutes of Minos. Yet his chivalrous 
spirit suffered him not to rest ; his adventurous and licentious cha- 
racter involved him in new difficulties ; till at length the affections 
of his subjects were completely alienated, and he was taken off by a 
premature death in the island of Scyrus. Great honours were after- 
wards paid to his memory by the Athenians ; he was elevated to the 
i-ank of a demi-god ; and his bones having been found, when Cimon 
took that island, were brought to Athens with great pomp. 



D 



34 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



Attica marched, what would be the issue of the con- 
test. The reply was, they would prove successful, 
if the king of Athens were not killed." Every pre- 
caution was consequently taken on their part to pre- 
vent an incident, which, however desirable it might 
have appeared to them under other circumstances, 
they now considered destructive to their hopes, and 
ruinous to their cause. The strictest orders Were 
given both to the officers and private soldiers to guard 
the life of Codrus with the utmost care, upon the pre- 
servation of which, they firmly believed, their ultimate 
success depended. 

On the other hand, no sooner had the response of 
the oracle reached the ears of the patriotic prince of 
Athens, than the generous purpose was formed, though 
concealed in his own bosom, of sacrificing himself for 
the protection of his country. Being informed of the 
precautions taken by the hostile army, he determined 
to elude their vigilance by stratagem. He laid aside 
all the insignia of royalty, assumed the disguise of a 
peasant, and entered the enemy's camp in tattered 
garments, with fagots on his shoulder. Immediately 
after his arrival he provoked a quarrel with some of 
the common soldiers, who quickly proceeded from 
words to blows, till at length, in the midst of the tu- 
mult, Codrus received a mortal wound. The invading 
army was panic-stricken when the death of the king 
was discovered, and precipitately retreated without 
daring to risk a battle. 

When the Athenians were apprized of the generous 
sacrifice which their king had made for their safety, they 
were deeply affected with the event. They hailed him 
in terms of rapturous gratitude, as the magnanimous 



ESSAY V. 



THE DEATH OF CODRUS. 



35 



preserver of his country. His name was held in the 
highest veneration, and his obsequies crowned with 
public honours. But the most singular mode they 
adopted of expressing their grateful attachment, was, 
to decree that, as none after him could be worthy to 
bear the title of king, royalty from that time should 
be abolished in Athens, and a new species of elective 
magistrates appointed, who should be called Archons. 
These were at first chosen for life, but, after twelve of 
the family of Codrus had reigned as perpetual Archons, 
that office was restricted to ten years. Yet even this 
was not a sufficiently popular form of government to 
suit the republican taste of the Athenians, who took 
occasion, from the extinction of the race of Codrus, 
to reduce the archonship from a decennial to an annual 
office, and afterwards instead of one, appointed nine^ 
Archons, each of whom had his particular department, 
and all of whom were dependent on the people*. In 
this state the commonwealth of Athens remained, till 
it was re-organized by Solon, its celebrated philo- 
sopher and legislator. 

Plut. in Vit. Thes. Justin. Hist. lib. 2. cap. 6. Pausan. in 
Achaia. 

* The following brief statement of the titles and offices of the 
nine Archons may be of use to the juvenile reader. The first was 
styled, by way of eminence, ** the Archon;' and the year was distin- 
guished by his name. The second was Basileus, or king, who had 
a peculiar function and distinct tribunal. The third was denomi- 
nated Polemarch, who had the superintendence of military affairs. 
The other six were called " Thesmothetcs;' who were the guardians 
of the laws and conservators of the constitution. 



D 2 



36 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK r. 



REFLECTIONS. 

Whatever opinion may be formed respecting tlie 
credibility of the adventures of a Hercules or Theseus, 
it cannot be improper to apply them to purposes of 
general instruction. If in the ardent period of youth, 
a spirit of generous ambition be excited, or a desire 
of honourable distinction be cherished, great care 
should be taken that these dispositions be properly 
directed. It is not necessary to rove, like the roman- 
tic prince of Athens, to distant regions, in search of 
enemies and dangers. The young adventurer has only 
to retire within his own breast, and there he will find 
the most formidable adversaries to combat. The cor- 
rupt inclinations, the sensual passions, and all the 
vile affections of a depraved heart, may be considered 
as so many ferocious monsters, with which the youth- 
ful warrior has to maintain an arduous and perpetual 
conflict. For the encouragement of all who enter 
upon this warfare, it is promised, " Strength shall be 
equal to thy day. He that endureth to the end, the 
same shall be saved. Be thou faithful unto death, 
and I will give thee a crown of life." 

The part which wisdom and piety dictate to those 
who are about to engage in this arduous conflict, is, to 
consult the oracle of Jehovah. If this be neglected, 
even the heathen will rise up in judgment against us 
to condemn us. For their example forcibly, though 
indirectly, teaches us the propriety of acknowledging 
God in all our ways, imploring his counsel, and com- 
mitting ourselves to his protection. They werie not 
ashamed to make known to the wide world, that they 



« 



ESSAY V. THE DEATH OF CODRUS. 37 

presumed not to enter upon any important under- 
taking, without consulting one of the oracles of their 
imaginary deities ; and that they feared to act in op- 
position to its instructions, which were believed to be 
infallible and divine. Shall, then, professed Chris- 
tians confidently go forth in their own strength, in- 
stead of seeking wisdom from above ? Shall they be 
backward to consult the oracles of revealed truth, 
when entering upon any important duty, or scene of 
danger? Shall they not rather esteem it their impe- 
rious duty and high privilege in every thing to make 
known their requests to God by fervent and unceasing 
supplications ? 

The voluntary sacrifice of Codrus has been admired 
and applauded in all ages. But, assuredly, it bears no 
proportion to the infinite condescension and ineffable 
love of the Redeemer of mankind. Exalted far above 
the highest order of created beings, the equal and eter- 
nal Son of God undertook, by the sacrifice of himself, 
to redeem and save " those who were lost." In order 
to accomplish this, he laid aside for a time his native 
and essential glory- — that *^ glory which he had with 
the Father, before the world was ; " assumed a veil 
of mortality ; submitted to the deepest abasement of 
outward condition ; devoted himself to shame, suffer- 
ing and death, even the death of the cross ! Nor was 
all this endured for faithful subjects, who had never 
violated their oath of allegiance — or affectionate friends 
firmly attached to his interests — but for rebels, who 
had uniformly manifested a decided hostility towards 
him, — for enemies, who were in a state of open war- 
fare against his righteous authority. 

What terms can adequately express our obligations 



38 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



to this self-devoted victim ? Is he not worthy of all 
honour? Shall he not wear an immortal crown ? Shall 
any rival be permitted to occupy his throne in our 
hearts, or succeed him in the dominion of our affec- 
tions ? God forbid ! Let us rather " come, and bind 
ourselves to him by a perpetual covenant that shall 
never be broken."—" For God also hath highly ex- 
alted him, and given him a name which is above every 
name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should 
bow, and every tongue confess to the glory of God the. 
Father." 



ESSAY VI. 
On Lycurgus, the Spartan Legislator. 
A. C. 900. 

Every one who is conversant with ancient history, 
cannot but be familiar with the name of Lycurgus. 
Both ancient and modern historians have emulated 
each other, in attempts to celebrate his wisdom and 
virtues, or to eulogize his government and laws. If 
the period in which he lived, and the moral darkness 
which then covered the earth, be duly considered, it 
will be evident that this praise is not wholly unme- 
rited, though it most certainly ought to be qualified. 
It is true, the world had just before seen a monarch 
on the throne of Israel, Solomon the son of David, 
who was endowed with far superior wisdom, and 
whose virtue was of a much higher order. But it is 



ESSAY VI. LYCTJRGTJS. 39 

to be remembered, that the unrivalled powers of the 
Jew^ish prince were to be ascribed to special and su- 
pernatural influences ; his wisdom was imparted by 
direct inspiration from God, for the benefit of all suc- 
ceeding ages ; while that of the Lacedaemonian law- 
giver is to be considered merely as a natural endow- 
ment, improved by education, and augmented by a 
diligent investigation of men and things. 

Nothing is recorded in the early history of Laceda3- 
mon, of sufficient interest to require particular atten- 
tion, from the period in which it was founded by Le- 
lax, to the days of Lycurgus ; unless it be, the injury 
done to Menelaus, one of its kings, which, (as stated 
in a former essay,) gave rise to the Trojan war. At 
an early period of life, Lycurgus acquired so high a re- 
putation for wisdom and integrity, and so completely 
did he possess the confidence of his countrymen, that 
he was earnestly solicited, on the death of his elder 
brother, to ascend the throne. But he refused the 
proffered crown, and would only consent to become 
the guardian both of the state and its prince, during 
the minority of Charilaus, his nephew. His genero- 
sity and retiring modesty did not, however, screen him 
from the malice of enemies, who industriously circu- 
lated the most unfounded calumnies respecting liim^ 
and his motives. In order to disprove their accusa- 
tions, and clear himself of all suspicion, he determined 
to resign the reigns of government, and spend the 
years of his nephew's minority in foreign travels. 
During this period of absence, he is supposed to have 
visited Crete, Asia Minor, and Egypt, for the express 
purpose of studying attentively the systems of juris- 
prudence established in those countries In Crete, he 



40 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK t. 



made himself thoroughly acquainted with the institu- 
tions of Minos, many of which he afterwards adopted. 
In Asia Minor, he first met with Homer's poems, 
which before were little known, and existed only in a 
scattered form ; but by his exertions they were col- 
lected and brought into public notice, though yet in 
an imperfect state, compared with that in which they 
were arranged by Solon and Pisistratus of Athens. In 
his several journeys, he visited most of the wisest cha- 
racters of his age, consulted with them on the subject 
of legislation, investigated the merits of their respec- 
tive opinions, and inquired into the influence and ten- 
dency of the regulations they proposed. 

In the mean time the kingdom of Lacedaemon was 
the prey of anarchy. Its kings were little more than 
nominal, possessed indeed of the insignia of royalty, 
but destitute of all regal authority. The people were 
become insubordinate and lawless, discontented and 
rebellious. All parties, however, concurred in earnest 
and repeated solicitations to Lycurgus to return, and 
lend his powerful sanction to an entire reform, or ra- 
ther renovation, of the constitution, which all now 
perceived to be necessary to peace and prosperity. 
Lycurgus did not shrink from the undertaking, though 
perilous and difficult. Aware of the influence of re- 
ligious sanctions upon the human mind, he returned 
by way of Delphos, that he might consult the oracle 
of Apollo. He prevailed so far by secret influence, 
or, as some say, by bribes, as to obtain the warmest 
praises of the Pythoness. 

" Friend of the gods, and rather g-od than man," 
was the character given of himself; and of his laws, it 



ESSAY VI. 



LYCURGUS. 



41 



was predicted, " that the republic administered by 
them would be the best regulated in the world.*' Hav- 
ing thus obtained the testimony of the Delphic oracle 
in his favour, and acquired the confidence of the most 
eminent men in Sparta, immediately after his arrival, 
he entered upon the difficult task assigned him. He 
began with the appointment of a senate, which was 
designed to be a check both upon the kings and peo- 
ple, restraining the despotism of the one, and curbing 
the licentiousness of the other. He then proceeded to 
the equalization of property, in order that none might 
be so wealthy as to oppress others, nor any so poor, 
as to be liable from necessity to become corrupt. With 
this view, he divided Laconia into 30,000 equal shares, 
and the territories of the city of Sparta into 9000. 
The same motives induced him to prohibit the circu- 
lation of gold and silver coin, substituting a heavy 
and inconvenient iron coinage, which was of little no- 
minal or real value, thus hoping at once to cut asun- 
der the sinews both of avarice and luxury. Beside 
these he introduced a great variety of regulations rela- 
tive to the worship of their idol gods, the education of 
children, the discipline of armies, the administration 
of justice, and the government both of the appetites 
and of the tongue — ^the former, by the institution of 
public tables, and the latter, by recommending that 
sententious mode of speech, which has been usually 
called the Laconic style. 

Some of the laws of Lycurgus, and especially those 
which related to the prohibition of money and the 
equal division of property, were, as might have been 
expected, exceedingly obnoxious to the higher classes. 
When they were first enacted, the wealthy inhabitants 



42 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK 1- 



of Sparta, headed by the young nobility of that city, 
assembled, and shewed so hostile a disposition, that 
Lycurgus was constrained to take refuge in a temple. 
But on his way thither, he was overtaken by Alcander, 
a high-spirited young nobleman, and severely wounded 
in the eye. Instead of resenting the injury, when the 
intemperate youth was delivered into his hands, he 
treated him with the utmost kindness and confidence ; 
insomuch that Alcander, from an adversary, became a 
warm admirer and partisan of Lycurgus. Won by the 
meek and forgiving disposition of the legislator, he 
employed all his influence in supporting and vindicat- 
ing his laws. When Lycurgus had completed his sys- 
tem, and prevailed upon the people of Lacedaemon to 
adopt it, his next object was_to establish, and, if pos- 
sible, perpetuate it. The method he devised was, to 
assemble all the people and their rulers, and bind them 
by a most solemn oath, inviolably to observe the laws 
he had instituted, till he should return from Delphos, 
whither he was going to consult the oracle on a ques- 
tion of great importance. But when he had obtained 
a further oracular sanctiofi, which was transmitted in 
writing to Lacedaemon, instead of returning, he put 
an end to his life by fasting, in order that his country, 
men might never be released from their oath. 

The laws of Lycurgus continued in force about five 
hundred years, and conduced greatly to form the ener- 
getic and military character of the Spartans. But at 
the expiration of that period, the simplicity of man- 
ners, and voluntary poverty of the Lacedaemonians, 
was exchanged for the wealth, luxury, and consequent 
sensuality of the Asiatic nations. With these grew 
up so total a corruption of government and habits, 



ESSAY VI. LYCURGUS. 43 

that, in a short period, scarcely a trace of the institu- 
tions of Lycurgus could be found amongst them. 

PlutinVit. Lycurg-. Plat, de Legib. Xenoph. Instit. Lacon. 
Aristot. Polit. 



REFLECTIONS. 

Few instances have occurred of that species of he- 
roism, for which Lycurgus is justly celebrated, viz., 
refusing a crown Which was not only within his grasp, 
but actually proffered him. The crowd, the rabble of 
boasted heroes, have been of a far different descrip- 
tion — -men, who, enslaved by their passions, have 
swam through seas of blood to reach a sparkling and 
fragile toy — who have eagerly grasped at the rod of 
power, though fully aware that the attempt would ex- 
pose themselves, and thousands beside, to dangers and 
miseries, — who, whilst hurried along by a restless 
ambition from one atrocity to another, have trampled 
upon every moral and social obligation, and rent 
asunder every tie of justice and humanity. Compared 
with these ordinary mortals, how elevated, how truly 
dignified are they, who, like a Lycurgus in ancient 
times, or a Washington in modern days, have mo- 
destly put aside the honours which solicited their ac- 
ceptance, or consented to wear in the hour of danger 
the sword of supreme authority, which, on the return 
of peace, was cheerfully resigned. 

But the most interesting traits in the character of 
Lycurgus were his forgiveness of injuries, the digni- 
fied silence he maintained when falsely accused, and 



44 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



the meekness with which he submitted to injuries, in- 
stead of meditating revenge. There are, indeed, pro- 
per occasions, in which conscious integrity may be 
boldly asserted, and the tongue of slander put to si- 
lence by the evidence of truth ; but in general, the 
most effectual means of disarming enemies, and ex- 
tracting the venom of a malicious tongue, is to imi- 
tate, not Lycurgus merely, but one infinitely greater 
than he — ^the meek and lowly Jesus — who, when he 
was reviled, reviled not again ; when he suffered un- 
justly, he threatened not, but committed himself to 
him that judgeth righteously ; who was brought as a 
lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her 
shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth." 

The system of the Spartan legislator will not for a 
moment bear examination upon Christian principles. 
It shrinks from the test of divine revelation. Its basis 
was pride, rather than humility ; and its evident ten- 
dency was to form, not an amiable and virtuous peo- 
ple, but a nation of invincible warriors and heroes, 
rude in their manners, their minds uninformed, their 
habits grossly immoral, and their hearts hard as a 
rock of adamant. Of the justice of this charge, many 
of the laws of Lycurgus, sanctioning cruelty, theft, 
falsehood, indecency, and even murder, (were it ne- 
cessary to adduce them,^ would furnish convincing 
proof. No provisions were made by them for the 
moral, intellectual, or religious improvement of youth, 
but all their attention was to be given to corporeal 
and martial exercises. How unlike the best and 
wisest of these laws, to that which is " holy, just, and 
good," which proclaims " peace on earth, good-will 
toward men;" which requires that we " love one ano- 



ESSAY Vlt. 



THE MESSENIAN WARS. 



45 



ther with pure hearts fervently." How opposite to the 
statutes of Jehovah, which, are both pure and per- 
fect, " enlightening the eyes and converting the soul." 

If the most stupendous works of nature yield to the 
destructive influence of time — if the mountain falling 
cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his 
place — if ere long the visible heavens themselves shall 
pass away with a great noise, and the elements melt 
with fervent heat — can we wonder that the hope of 
man should perish, and his fondest expectations be 
cut off* ! Instead of expressing our surprise, that the 
structure erected by Lycurgus should fall at the expi- 
ration of five hundred years, knowing the mutability 
of all human things, it may rather excite our wonder, 
that it should have stood so long amidst the wreck of 
other states and empires. On this subject, too, Britain 
has cause both for wonder and gratitude, that amidst 
the surrounding desolations, she has been protected 
and sheltered, in a great measure, from the fury of 
the storm. But let her not be confident- — ^the king- 
dom of heaven alone is that kingdom which cannot be 
moved — the law of God alone endureth for ever ! 



ESSAY VII. 

On the History of Lacedcemon during the twoMessenian 
Wars. 

FROM A.C. 752 to A.C. 668. 

The influence of the laws of Lycurgus was soon ma- 
nifest in the martial temper of the Spartans. They be- 



46 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



came impatient for war, and eagerly sought some occa- 
sion for gratifying their favourite passion. Thus dis- 
posed, it was not likely that such an occasion would 
be long wanting. A party of Messenians, who inha- 
bited a neighbouring province, committed an outrage 
on some Spartan women, who were repairing to a 
temple of Diana, situate on the borders, and fre- 
quented by the inhabitants of both countries. Tele- 
clus, one of the kings of Lacedaemon, was killed in an 
attempt to protect them from violence. Remon- 
strances and explanations on this subject occupied 
some years. The Messenians seemed earnestly de- 
sirous of reconciliation, but the Spartans were im- 
placable, and while they made a show of negotiation, 
secretly prepared for war. After a lapse of several 
years spent in fruitless discussions, during which the 
latent enmity of the two states strengthened and fer- 
mented, some circumstances arose, which, though in 
themselves trifling, and wholly of a private nature, 
were yet sufficient to enkindle the torch of war. Alca- 
menes, one of the kings of Sparta, suddenly entered 
the Messenian territory, at the head of an army, all of 
whom had pledged themselves by an oath not to re- 
turn till they had conquered that province. But a 
series of disasters soon convinced them of their rash- 
ness, and constrained them to return home, without 
having fulfilled their vow. After the death of Alca- 
meneSj Theopompus undertook to carry on the war. 
It was in the reign of this latter prince, as is gene- 
rally supposed, that the ephori were created, a spe- 
cies of popular magistrates, who afterwards possessed 
so much influence as to control the kings them- 



ESSAY VII. 



THE MESSENIAN WARS. 



47 



selves*. To Theopompus was opposed Aristodemus, 
who, with far inferior forces, but consummate pru- 
dence, maintained his ground, and even defeated the 
Spartans in four general engagements. But Aristo- 
demus was not able to govern his perturbed mind, 
though he could keep the Spartans in check. For at 
an early period of the war, he had, in obedience to 
the oracle, sacrificed his own daughter, with the vain 
hope of ensuring success to his arms ; but now, stung 
with remorse, and driven to desperation, on account 
of the murder of his child, he killed himself at her 
grave ! This event was quickly followed by the reduc- 
tion of Messenia, whose inhabitants became slaves to 
their conquerors, and the termination of the first 
Messenian war. 

During thirty-nine years t, the Messenians groaned 
under the yoke of Sparta. At the expiration of that 
period, they were induced, by Aristomenes, a youth of 
noble birth and invincible courage, to revolt, and at- 
tempt to regain their liberties. Many tales are -re- 
corded of this youthful patriot, which are scarcely 
credible, and which it is not necessary here to repeat. 

* The ephori were five in nurabei*, chosen by the common people 
out of their own body. They were elected annually, and possessed 
almost boundless authority. They presided in popular assemblies ; 
decided on war or peace ; determined on the forces that should be 
raised, and provided funds to maintain them. They held a court of 
justice, which superintended not only ordinary cases, but inquired 
into the conduct of all magistrates, supreme and subordinate ; and 
distributed rewards or punishments. Their power increased by 
deg-rees, till at length the kings of Sparta were little more than 
generals, and the whole administration of civil affairs was in their 
hands. So important was their office deemed, that they were fre- 
quently called, the nerve of the Commonwealth. 

t Justin says, eighty years. 



48 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



It is sufficient to state, that after many sanguinary 
battles and miraculous escapes from death, he had the 
mortification to see his country again completely sub- 
jugated, and its inhabitants scattered ; yet he himself 
desisted not from his efibrts to shake off the tyranny 
of Sparta, till overtaken by the last enemy, in the 
midst of all his schemes of revenge. By his death the 
Spartans were freed from a determined and formidable 
adversary, the resources of whose mind, united to the 
most invincible bravery, they had often witnessed, 
with mingled astonishment and dismay. In his grave, 
the liberties and hopes of Messenia were buried for 
ever, as from that time its depressed inhabitants 
quietly submitted to the yoke of Lacediemon. 

Pausan. ia Lacon. et Messen. Plut. Instit. Lac Justin, lib. 3. cap. 5. 



REFLECTIONS. 

It is melancholy to observe, how large a space in the 
history of mankind is filled with the distressing details 
of war. The records of states and empires contain 
indeed little more than the sad recital of those struggles 
for pre-eminence and power, in which they were at 
different periods engaged, and the consequent miseries 
in which they involved both themselves and others. 
Whoever, therefore, undertakes to be the historical 
guide of the young, is frequently compelled, however 
reluctantly, to conduct them through fields of blood, 
which he would gladly shun ; and exhibit to their 
views scenes of desolation, over which he would pre- 
fer to draw the veil of perpetual oblivion. Seldom 



ESSAY VII. 



THE MESSENIAN WAR. 



49 



has he the satisfaction of pointing his youthful charge 
to a national benefactor, upon whom came the blessing 
of thousands that were ready to perish, or a public 
benefit, which diffused happiness and peace around. 
Much more frequently is he reduced to the painful 
necessity of tracing the series of events, and marking 
the different aeras of history, by following the blood- 
stained track of mighty conquerors, or the wide-wast- 
ing calamities of war. 

In the present essay, a rapid and cursory view has 
been taken of one of the principal states of Greece 
during nearly a century, the greater part of which 
period was consumed in a sanguinary struggle with a 
neighbouring state ; yet what is there in all the re- 
cords of that age, on which a mind can dwell with 
satisfaction which is under the influence of Christian 
principles ? Is it possible that such a mind should 
contemplate with complacency, or even with indif- 
ference, the infernal spectacle of a general and his 
army, swearing perpetual enmity against their bre- 
thren, and binding themselves by a solemn oath, to 
exterminate their adversaries or perish in the attempt ? 
Could such a mind endure the heart-rending scene of 
a father, under the influence of superstitious delusion, 
first sacrificing his daughter, to appease the wrath of 
the gods ; and then, in a fit of frenzy, terminating his 
own existence? Or could any who have imbibed the 
spirit of the Gospel, and learned of him who was 
meek and lowly in heart," approved the conduct of 
proud oppressors, who revenged private injuries by 
public desolations, taking occasion from the unau- 
thorized act of a few individuals, to carry fire and 
sword into the heart of a country that had a claim 

E 



50 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



upon their friendship, and subjugate a people, who 
were nearly allied to them, by descent from the same 
ancestors? Yet these are the objects which must 
necessarily engage the attention of the traveller, who 
would explore the entangled mazes, or penetrate the 
dreary wastes of ancient history. It is well, if turning 
with abhorrent feelings from such anti -christian 
scenes, he learn from them, to estimate more highly 
the benevolent precepts and pacific tendency of the 
Gospel of Christ. 

How often have the projects of the ambitious, the 
worldly-minded, or the voluptuous, been cut off by 
death ! In the midst of all their plans of aggrandize- 
ment, their dreams of pleasure and honour, how often 
have the wicked been driven away in their wickedness I 
While the venom of '* envy, malice, and all unchari- 
tableness," still rankled at the heart — while the un- 
hallowed fires of revenge or lust still raged in their 
bosoms — they have been summoned at an unexpected 
moment into the presence of their Judge ! But who 
can tell, or who conceive, how unutterably fearful a 
thing it is, under such circumstances, to fall into the 
hands of the living God. Are these the dispositions 
under whose prevailing influence, it is desirable to 
meet with death, and plunge into an awful eternity? 
Is this the temper in which we would be hurried to 
the dread tribunal, and await in fearful expectation 
our irrevocable doom? If not, let us take heed how 
we indulge those unsanctified passions, or cherish 
those revengeful feelings, which would cover us with 
shame and everlasting confusion in the "great and 
terrible day of the Lord !" 



ESSAY VIII. 



DRACO. 



51 



ESSAY VIII. 
On Draco, the first Athenian Legislator. 

FLOURISHED A.C. 624. 

The change of government which took place at 
Athens in consequence of the death of Codrus, proved 
unfavourable to the tranquillity of that state. From 
that time there w^ere perpetual struggles for supre- 
macy betv^een the nobility and the common people. 
The Archons, v^ho w^ere elected annually out of the 
former class, claimed the right of deciding on all 
public questions, according to their own judgments, 
without any appeal to their electors, or a general 
assembly; whilst, on the other hand, the popular party 
feared every approach towards despotism, were ex- 
ceedingly jealous of their liberty and independence, 
and claimed the right both of interference and final 
decision in all matters of importance. From such 
jarring interests it is not surprising that powerful 
factions arose, which gained strength, in proportion 
to the growing wealth and population of the city. At 
length, wearied with contentions, and instructed by 
sufferings, both parties felt the importance of an 
organized and eiSective government. They became 
convinced that a system of laws to which both might 
appeal, and according to which public justice might 
be administered, was absolutely necessary, and were 
unanimous in their choice of Draco, a man of rigid 
and severe temperament, but of the most approved 
integrity. 

E 2 



52 



HISTORY OP GREECE. 



-BOOK I. 



Draco appears to have been of noble birth, and dis- 
tinguished no less by his virtues than by his rank. He 
saw with regret the progress of public degeneracy ; 
the prevalence of licentious habits ; the impious con- 
tempt with which every form of religion was treated 
by his countrymen ; and attempted, by penal statutes 
and sanguinary decrees, to stem the torrent of vice 
and irreligion. With this view, he drew up a code, 
which was intended by its severity to effect a reforma- 
tion of manners amongst ail classes. In this code, 
the punishment of death was annexed to every species 
of crime, the least as well as the most heinous ; and 
the reason assigned by the legislator for this severity 
was, that " when he considered the baneful influence 
of the most trifling offences upon society, they ap_ 
peared to him worthy of death, and he could devise 
no higher degree of punishment for the greatest." 
The particular regulations he introduced have long 
since been forgotten, or at best some scattered frag- 
ments alone can be collected from the writings of 
the ancients, but their character has been transmitted 
to posterity in two memorable sayings ; the one re- 
corded by Aristotle of Herodicus, who used to say, 
** that the institutions of Draco seem rather to have 
proceeded from a dragon than a man the other was 
pronounced by Demades, one of the orators of Athens^ 
who represented the Thesmoi, or sanctions of Draco,, 
as written " not with ink, but in blood.'* 

Had this sanguinary lawgiver lived in Sparta, the 
austerity of his disposition and rigour of his laws 
might have been tolerated, but nothing could be 
more opposite to the Athenian ch aracter. His laws 
were consequently rejected almost as soon as framed. 



ESSAY VIII. 



DRACO. 



53 



and the disgust they excited was quickly transferred 
from them to their author, who found it necessary to 
retire from the violence of popular dissatisfaction to 
the island of iEgina. But, (if the testimony of Hesy- 
chius can be credited,) the favour shown to him by the 
inhabitants of iEgina, proved more fatal than the 
enmity of the Athenians. For, on his first appearing 
amongst them in public after his arrival, the whole 
assembly (according to the custom of that age) threw 
over him their mantles and bonnets, from the pressure 
of which he was too feeble to disengage himself, till 
he was completely suffocated. 

Notwithstanding the cruelty of his laws, there is 
reason to believe that Draco was, in his private cha- 
racter, mild and lenient, a man of taste and letters, 
and extremely attached to poetry. The best excuse 
that can be made for the severity of his public charac- 
ter, is, that he was instigated to it by the turbulent 
licentiousness of the tinges in which he lived, and his 
abhorrence of the prevailing vices of the age. 

Pausan. Attic. Plut. in Vit. Solon. Hesych. Illust. de Pliilos. 
Aristot. Polit. lib. 2. 



REFLECTIONS. 

The unsettled state of Athens, so long as it con- 
tinued destitute of a civil code, should teach us to ap- 
preciate highly the blessings of a well-organized con- 
stitution and wholesome laws, to which (under God) 
we are indebted for the internal peace we have long 
enjoyed. Nothing can be more fitted, on the one 



54 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



hand, to guard against the abuse of delegated power, 
and on the other, to restrain the excesses of popular 
tumults, than the British constitution. The revolu- 
tions of modern times confirm the evidence of former 
ages, proving that the want of equal laws, or a pre- 
vailing disregard to them when instituted, are the 
chief causes of those commotions which agitate the 
earth, and bringin their train, anarchy and destruction. 

In order to secure the peace and well-being of a 
state, it is, however, not only necessary that there 
should be a series of laws, to which both rulers and 
their subjects may appeal ; but it is of importance that 
those laws be founded in equity, dictated by wisdom, 
and administered with mingled firmness and modera- 
tion. They must stand as bulwarks of liberty and 
justice. They must hold an even balance between the 
prerogative of the crown, and the unalienable rights 
of the people. No sanguinary edicts, no rigorous 
punishments, can fortify a system which sets political 
justice at defiance, and does violence to the sympa- 
thies of nature. It has, indeed, been questioned by 
some of the profoundest statesmen our country has 
produced, whether the severity of our penal code, and 
the frequency of capital punishments in this empire, 
tends to diminish the number of criminal offenders ; 
and whether this end would not be more eflTectually 
answered by more lenient modes of punishment. 

The instance of Draco furnishes one, amongst an 
almost endless multitude of proofs, that nothing is 
more fickle than popular favour, and nothing more 
dangerous. He who had just before been appointed 
by universal suffrage to give law to Athens, became, 
in a short time, the object of public odium, and thought 



ESSAY VIII. 



DRACO. 



55 



himself happy to escape with his life to an obscure 
island. Such examples might be deemed sufficient to 
warn mankind against resting on an arm of flesh, a 
bruised reed, a barbed spear, for such is at best the 
friendship of this world. How unworthy of our con- 
fidence is this false flatterer, ready on every occasion 
to start aside like a deceitful bow ! How much wiser 
to seek the immutable favour of the Most High God, 
than to court the transitory applauses of the present 
evil world ! How much more secure and happy their 
condition, who walk humbly with their God, than 
theirs who are elevated to the dangerous pinnacle 
of worldly honour ! 

The smiles of the world have frequently proved more 
fatal than her frowns. Draco escaped unhurt from 
the Athenians, who were enraged against him, and 
threatened his life : but perished at iEgina, amidst 
the applauses and gratulations of the inhabitants, who 
meant to do him signal honour. So have we often 
seen those, who have weathered the most tremendous 
storms of adversity, sink in the haven of prosperity. 
So has it been frequently found, that characters, who 
stood firm amidst the shock of calamity and persecu- 
tion, have yielded to the blandishments and fascina- 
tions of sinful pleasures. Let him, therefore, that 
thinketh he stands, take heed lest he fall." 



66 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



ESSAY IX. 

Ow Solon, the second Athenian Legislator, 

FLOURISHED A. C. 597. 

The Athenians, as was stated in the preceding es- 
say, threw off the yoke of their former lawgiver, as 
soon as they felt its pressure. But, convinced of the 
necessity of some powerful restraint, they looked 
around them for one whose virtues wore a milder as- 
pect than those of Draco ; one, who would be likely 
to win the affections, as well as to constrain the re- 
verence, of the people. Such a character was Solon ; 
beloved both by the rich and poor ; celebrated for wis- 
dom and suavity of manners ; distinguished by his 
lineal descent from the patriotic Codrus. He devoted 
his youth to the study of philosophy, in which, at an 
early period of his life, he made great proficiency. 
But when arrived at years of maturity, he was induced, 
partly by his love of independence, and partly by the 
narrow circumstances in which his father left him, to 
apply himself to merchandise. For this purpose he 
travelled into many and distant countries ; but not for 
this only, since he availed himself of the opportunities 
and facilities which his commercial journeys afforded, 
to cultivate his mind, and form an acquaintance with 
the wisest men of that age. He formed, in particular, 
an intimate acquaintance with Thales of Miletus, one 
of the seven Grecian sages*. So far did he profit by 

* It may be proper just to mention that the names of the seven 
wise men of Greece were Thales, Pittacus, Bias, Solon, Cleobulus^, 



ESSAY IX. 



SOLON. 



57 



the society of those most celebrated for wisdom, as to 
obtain for himself a distinguished rank in their fra- 
ternity. At a time, in which the task was peculiarly 
difficult and perilous, Solon yielded to the urgent so- 
licitations of his fellow-citizens, that he would take 
the helm, and whilst he modestly refused the honours, 
voluntarily undertook the charge and responsibility of 
a supreme magistrate. He composed, with skilful 
address, the differences which had so long existed, and 
risen to so great a height, between the higher and 
lower orders of the Athenians. The measures he adopt- 
ed at the commencement of his archonship, were in- 
deed, at first, unpopular ; particularly that which 
related to the cancelling of debts ; a strong measure, 
which nothing but the exigency of the times could jus- 
tify. Some were dissatisfied, because he did not imi- 
tate Lycurgus, in equalizing property, and dividing 
Attica into shares. But in a short time, all parties 
acquiesced in his preparatory measures, and shewed 
the confidence they had in him, by unanimously elect- 
ing him legislator of Athens. 

Solon began with abrogating all the laws of Draco, 
except that which related to murder. He proceeded 
to divide the people into four classes, according to the 
amount of their property ; assigning to the first, which 
included all the nobles, the executive part of the go- 
vernment ; but admitting, in all cases, . a final appeal 
to the general assembly of the people. Lest, how- 
ever, this supreme power, lodged in the people, should 

Myson, and Chilon Each of these endeavoured to communicate 
knowledge by short and comprehensive sentences, applicable either 
to g-overnment or morals ; beside which, each had his own favourite 
motto, with which his name continues to be associated, even to the 
present day. 



58 



HISTORY OP GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



be abused, he appointed two institutions, which were 
intended to counteract its licentiousness. The first, 
the court of Areopagus, which was revived and re- 
established, though not devised by Solon* ; and the 
second, a senate consisting of four hundred persons, 
of whom a hundred were to be chosen out of each 
class. Many of the laws of Solon related to the en- 
couragement of arts, trades, and manufactures, on 
which he was well aware the prosperity, and even the 
existence of a state, greatly depends. He made it both 
disgraceful and criminal for any person, whatever his 
rank or wealth, to follow no profession, and spend 
his days in indolence ; whilst, on the contrary, the 
strongest incentives to industry and manual labour 
were held out. A great variety of subordinate regu- 
lations were introduced by Solon, applicable to the 
different relations of society, and circumstances of 
common life, many of which may appear, at first view, 
trifling, but they had no inconsiderable influence on 
the future prosperity of Athens. These are detailed in 
the life of this philosophic statesman, written by Plu- 
tarch, and may be found, in a scattered form, amongst 
the remains of Diogenes, Laertius, Demosthenes, and 
many others, who seem to have vied with each other 
in their praises of his genius and learning. So con- 

* The celebrated court of Areopagus was so called from its as- 
sembling' at Mars-hill. None were members of it, but those who 
had been Archons. They had cognizance of all oifences against the 
laws and religion of the Athenians. They were the guardians of 
public morals, regulated all the affairs of the temples and altars, con- 
secrated new deities, or introduced new religious ceremonies. It 
was on this account that the Apostle Paul was summoned before the 
court of Areopagus, as ** a setter forth of strange gods, because he 
preached to the people, Jesus and the resurrection." Acts, xvii. 
16, ^c. 



ESSAY IX. 



SOLON. 



59 



vinced were the Romans of the excellence of his laws, 
that, in the year of Rome 293, they sent deputies to 
Athens to transcribe them, that they might gather 
from them a code for their own republic. 

Solon, in imitation of Lycurgus, bound the people 
by an oath to observe his institutes, at least, during 
one hundred years ; and then travelled into Lydia, 
Egypt, Cyprus, S^x. S^c, that he might avoid perplex- 
ing inquiries respecting them, and that their stability 
might be tried. After an absence of ten years he re- 
turned to Athens, and found it again in confusion. 
Three powerful factions struggled for pre-eminence ; 
one consisted of those who were attached to Lycur- 
gus of Athens — a second was under the conduct of 
Megacles — and the third was headed by Pisistratus. 
The latter party ultimately prevailed, chiefly through 
the address of Pisistratus himself. By his profuse 
generosity and insinuating behaviour, he so completely 
fascinated the common people as to induce them to 
surrender their liberties to him without a struggle. 
Solon, though still held in the highest esteem by the 
Athenians, remonstrated in vain against the designs 
of Pisistratus, and in vain urged his fellow-citizens 
to guard the liberties of their country. Finding 
all his efforts fruitless, he retired from public af- 
fairs, and lamented, in silence and solitude, the dege- 
nerate spirit and fallen condition of the Athenians. 
He survived but two years the expiring liberties of 
his country. Historians are not agreed whether he 
died at Athens, or whether he retired in disgust from 
that city previous to his death. It is, however, cer- 
tain that the highest honours were paid to his memory. 



60 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



and both his personal services and legal code were 
long remembered with grateful admiration. 

See Plut. in Vit. Solon. Diog^en. Laert. in id. Herodot. lib. 1 
Plat, de Repub. Valer. Maxim, lib. 8. 



REFLECTIONS. 

The pursuits which engage the attention of youth 
are most important, because they have a powerful and 
permanent, though, often at the time, an impercep- 
tible influence, on the whole character. If Solon, in- 
stead of spending his youth in the study of literature 
and philosophy, had dissipated his mind, and vitiated 
his habits by sensual and criminal indulgence, he would 
never have possessed so much of the esteem and con- 
fidence of his countrymen — would never have proved 
the greatest ornament and blessing of his country — nor 
would his name have been handed down with honour 
to distant ages. How many young persons, possessed 
of promising talents, which, if properly cultivated, 
would have rendered them both useful and ornamen- 
tal to society, have been lost to themselves, to their 
friends, to their country, and to the world, by sub- 
mitting to the tyranny of their passions, and employ- 
ing those energies in the ardent pursuit of forbidden 
pleasures, with which the Almighty had liberally 
endowed them ! How unspeakably important is it, 
therefore, that the young should listen to the counsel 
of an inspired apostle, who warns them to flee 
youthful lusts, which w^ar against the soul!" — that 



ESSAY IX. 



SOLON. 



61 



they should remember the testimony of the wisest of 
men, who has asserted, on divine authority, that "he 
that walks with wise men shall be wise, but the com- 
panion of fools shall be destroyed." 

Decision, accompanied with moderation ^ or (as our 
Saviour has beautifully expressed it) " the wisdom of 
the serpent, combined with the harmlessness of the 
dove," will enable their possessor to surmount the 
most ardous, and accomplish the most dangerous, ser- 
vices. To those who have contemplated the Athenian 
character, and who have attentively observed the 
fickleness, the turbulence, the jealous party-spirit, 
the passion for independence, which that people ex- 
hibited in every period of their history, it will be 
evident, that Solon undertook an Herculean task. A 
person of distinguished birth and reputed wisdom 
had, a short time before, completely failed in the at- 
tempt. Yet, by holding the reins of government 
with a firm but gentle hand, — ^by soothing the turbid 
passions, allaying the animosities, and gradually re- 
moving the prejudices of the people, — Solon attained 
his wishes, for the good of his country. This may 
teach us, if we would be useful to others, to have our 
tempers in subjection, and first to *'rule our own 
spirit." Let those affections be cherished, which are 
" lovely and of good report." Let us endeavour to 
win, by the spirit of meekness and love, even our 
bitterest foes ; for in this, true wisdom manifests it- 
self ; this, both reason and revelation require at our 
hands. 

We find, however, that the moderation and wisdom, 
the eloquence and influence of Solon, were too feeble 
to counteract the artifices and address of an insi- 



62 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



nuating tyrant. Ardently as he had desired, and dili- 
gently laboured, to secure the blessings of civil liberty 
to his country, he had the mortification to see, in his 
old age, the labours of his life demolished, and his 
fondest hopes blasted. Ought not this fact to impress 
succeeding ages with the conviction, that exertions 
merely human, even though they should be made by 
the vrisest and best of men, are inefficient, when op- 
posed to the deep depravity — the deceitfulness and 
desperate wickedness of the human heart? Does it 
not show the imperious necessity of some superior, 
that is, of divine influence and aid, to enable us to 
contend successfully, either with our own corruptions, 
or the artifices of others ? Those who possess most of 
the wisdom of this world, have no less need than others 
of that "wisdom which cometh down from above," or 
they will find their effbrts end in disappointment and 
vexation. 



ESSAY X. 

On the Visit o/Solon to Crossus, King of Lydia. 

ABOUT A. C. 562. 

One of the original historians of Greece has related 
an incident in the life of Solon, which is too impor- 
tant to be passed over in silence. Amongst other places 
visited by that distinguished philosopher and states- 
man, during his ten years' absence from Athens, 
Sardis, the capital of the kingdom of Lydia, was one. 
Croesus, the Lydian monarch, was then in the zenith 
of his prosperity and fame. He felt himself flattered 



ESSAY X. 



SOLON AND CRCESUS. 



63 



by a visit from so celebrated a stranger, and enter- 
tained him, with every mark of respect, in his splendid 
palace, where wealth, profusion, and luxury abounded. 
The king of Lydia so completely mistook the true cha- 
racter of the Grecian sage, before whom he ostenta- 
tiously displayed all the magnificence and abundance 
of his treasury, that he expected Solon would be filled 
with admiration, and pronounce him the happiest man 
upon earth. But the independent citizen of Athens 
scorned to flatter the vanity of the prince at the ex- 
pense of truth; and, therefore, in reply to the repeated 
inquiries of Croesus, whom he considered the happiest 
of men," referred to several obscure, but virtuous cha- 
racters, who, having lived usefully, died lamented and 
honoured. Croesus could not refrain from expressing 
both surprise and dissatisfaction at Solon's reply ; that 
he should prefer the condition of such private indivi- 
duals, to the pomp and splendour of a prince like 
himself. The Grecian philosopher explained the 
reason, and stated the grounds of his decision, by 
informing the vain-glorious monarch, *'that it was 
impossible to judge of any man's happiness before his 
death; because it is impossible to foresee what may 
befal him. Characters and events were," he con- 
ceived, " only to be estimated by their end." Accus- 
tomed only to the soothing language of courtiers and 
flatterers, the king of Lydia knew not how to brook 
these unwelcome truths. He afffected, indeed, to 
despise them, but sufficiently shewed the deep im- 
pression they made upon his mind, by abruptly dis- 
missing his faithful monitor. 

Soon after the departure of Solon, the tide of pros- 
perity, which had hitherto flowed in an uninterrupted 



64 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



stream, turned against Croesus. A variety of cala- 
mitous events took place. His favourite son, Atys, 
was killed in hunting. The growing empire and 
rapid conquest of Cyrus, gave him just cause of 
alarm. His armies were defeated in several san- 
guinary battles with the Persian conqueror. His 
capital was at length taken, and himself made pri- 
soner. It vras in this battle, we are informed, that, 
when on the point of being cut down by a Persian 
soldier, the hand of his antagonist was arrested by 
the sudden exclamation of his second son, who had till 
then been speechless ; but, prompted by filial affection, 
he then uttered with distinctness, ''Spare Croesus." 
The Lydian monarch was taken prisoner, and delivered 
to Cyrus, who (according to the testimony of Hero- 
dotus) condemned him, together with fourteen noble 
youths of Lydia, to be burnt in honour of the gods, as 
the first fruits of victory. When the sentence was 
about to be executed, and the unhappy monarch had 
ascended the funeral pile, the words of Solon, which 
had formerly both surprised and offended him, oc- 
curred so forcibly to his recollection, that he repeated 
thrice, with manifest emotion, the name of that philo- 
sopher. Cyrus, who stood by, on inquiring into the 
cause of that exclamation, was informed of the inter- 
view between Solon and Croesus, which has been 
narrated; and was so impressed with the striking 
illustration of the sentiments which the fall of Croesus 
exhibited, as to revoke the sentence, and admit him 
into the number of his companions and counsellors. 

It is worthy of remark that the king of Lydia was 
betrayed into the war with Cyrus, which cost him his 
crown, and threatened his life, by the ambiguous sen- 



ESSAY X. 



SOLON AND CRCESUS. 



65 



tence he obtained, at a great expense, from the Delphic 
oracle. The response given to his ambassadors, who 
were instructed to inquire whether he should under- 
take a war with Persia, was, " if Croesus pass the 
Halys, he will put an end to a vast empire." His 
consummate vanity prevented the suspicion from 
entering his mind, that this vast empire might prove 
his own, till the melancholy result of the contest con- 
strained him to adopt that interpretation* 

On the subject of this essay, consult Herodot. lib. 1. cap. 71, Sfc, 



REFLECTIONS. 

Nothing tends more to intoxicate the mind than a 
long-continued series of prosperous events. Persons 
who have passed through the period of youth, and 
even arrived at the meridian of life, without meeting 
with any opposing current of adversity, without en- 
countering any of the storms of life, or being over- 
shadowed by so much as a transient cloud, are in 
danger of being so far deluded by these favourable 
circumstances, as to lose sight of the mutability of all 
human things, and even to doubt the possibility of a 
reverse. Because, hitherto, the mountain of their 
prosperity has stood firm, they fondly presume, they 
shall never be moved. The unhappy effect of this 
infatuation is, that the day of calamity, when it comes, 
is invested with tenfold horrors. In proportion as it 
is unforeseen and unexpected, the weight of wo is felt 
to be more oppressive and intolerable. There cannot 
be a more evident mark of folly than to put far off the 
evil day, and cherish, to the latest possible moment, 

F 



66 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



a presumptuous confidence, which the first blast of 
adversity will sweep away, as chaff before the whirl- 
wind. It were assuredly far more wise, — while yet 
the beams of prosperity continue to illumine our 
path, — before the evil days come, and the years draw 
nigh in which we shall say, we have no pleasure in 
them," — ^to institute the important inquiry, dictated 
by the Spirit of Truth, " What shall we do in the 
swellings of Jordan ?" 

The reply of Solon to Croesus was the result of wis- 
dom and experience, though unwelcome to the ears of 
the haughty monarch. The dazzling lustre of an 
imperial crown may impose upon the vam and unre- 
flecting part of mankind, but true wisdom will pene- 
trate through this false glare of outward splendour, 
and discern a cumbrous mass of cares and dangers, 
solicitudes and sorrows, that lies beneath, and fre- 
quently renders the possessor of regal dignities an 
object of compassion, rather than of envy. 

Since no stretch of human thought, no sagacity or 
penetration of which mortals can boast, can foresee the 
future events of life, or determine through what toils 
and dangers they may be called to pass — ^what storms 
of adversity or sorrow may overtake them in their 
journey through life — it is obviously impossible to 
form a just estimate of happiness, till the termination 
of this uncertain state of being. The morning of our 
existence may be bright and cloudless, but ere noon, 
the tempest may gather, and the evening of life prove 
rough and boisterous. Or, on the contrary, the gloom 
that overspreads the morning may be completely dis- 
pelled, and lead to a serene and unclouded evening 
sky. So true is it that the measure of happiness is 



ESSAY XI. PISISTBATUS AND HIPPIAS. 



67 



not to be ascertained by the outward condition, how- 
ever prosperous, or the present circumstances, how- 
ever favourable, in which an individual may be placed. 

But had Solon been blest with the sacred oracles of 
Jehovah, how much more explicit and satisfactory an 
answer might he have given to the inquiry of Croesus, 
<«Who is the happy man?" That inspired volume 
would have taught him to reply, " Blessed is he 
whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered; 
blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not 
iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile ; he 
that hungers and thirsts after righteousness ; he that 
is merciful and meek, penitent and pure in heart ; he 
that knows the joyful sound, and walks continually in 
the light of the divine countenance — happy are all they 
that are in such a case, yea happy are the people 
whose God is the Lord !" Psal. xxxii. 1 , 2. Matt. v. 3 — 
12. Psal. Ixxxix. 15, 16. Psal,. cxliv. 15. 



ESSAY XL 

The History of Athens, from the Usurpation of 
PisisTRATus to the Expulsion o/Hippias. 

FROM A. C. 561—511. 

Liberty, like all other blessings, is liable to abuse. 
The transition has been frequent from the enjoyment 
of political freedom, to the restlessness of political 
faction ; and from the latter, to political despotism. 
An illustration of this remark will be found in that 
part of the history of Athens, to which the present 
essay relates. 

F 2 



68 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



Solon had no sooner fixed his new constitution, as 
he hoped, on a permanent basis, and quitted Athens, 
than several parties, which before had been restrained, 
by his weight of influence and authority, from dis- 
turbing the commonwealth, began to contend with 
each other. These parties were, the anstocratical, 
composed for the most part, of men of wealth and 
ambition, led on by Lycurgus ; the democratical, which 
consisted chiefly of the lower orders, with whom liberty 
was the idol of adoration, and yet who were so deceived 
by the insinuating manners and popular harangues of 
Pisistratus, as to resign their liberties into his hands; 
and the more moderate party, who were the weakest 
both in numbers and influence, and 5^et v/ere able for 
a time to restrain the excesses and counteract the 
efforts of the two former. They acknowledged Mega- 
cles as their head, who had acquired much reputation 
by his several victories in the Olympic, Pythian, and 
Isthmian games. 

Notwithstanding the earnest remonstrances of So- 
lonbefore his death, the decided aversion of the Athe- 
nians to a regal form of government, and the collision 
of contending parties, Pisistratus proceeded, step by 
step, to the sovereignty of Athens. He was a prince 
of an unusually mild disposition, of fascinating man- 
ners, of refined taste, of distinguished learning, and of 
commanding eloquence ; distinguished no less by the 
excellence of his private character, than by the wis- 
dom and moderation of his government. He adopted 
the laws of Solon, for whom he cherished through life 
an affectionate regard ; preserved the Athenian con- 
stitution, as organized by that illustrious legislator; 
continued in full powers, the assembly, the senate, the 



ESSAY XI. 



PISISTRATUS AND HIPPIAS. 



69 



civil and judicial courts, and all the orders of magis- 
tracy instituted by him ; and introduced many addi- 
tional regulations, justly celebrated for their wisdom 
and policy. He facilitated the progress of science by 
his munificent liberality and patronage of learned men. 
To him is ascribed the honour of collecting the first 
public library known in the world ; and of digesting? 
arranging, and thus preserving to posterity, the well- 
known poems of Homer, which before were chiefly 
traditional and scattered. By this combination of ex- 
traordinary talents, with a wise and liberal policy, he 
was enabled to retain the helm of government during 
many tempestuous years ; and having reigned to an 
advanced age, died regretted, esteemed, and beloved. 
Ancient historians have branded his memory with the 
odious name of a tyrant ; but if that name be under- 
stood, according to its modern acceptation, far from de- 
serving this reproach, he might be more properly called 
a wise and amiable monarch, the father of his people. 

Hippias and Hipparchus, two of the sons of Pisis- 
tratus, succeeded him, and were not unworthy of such 
a father. They closely imitated his mode of admini- 
stration, and, by pursuing the same salutary measures, 
maintained, during fourteen years, an uncontrolled in- 
fluence over the Athenians. Well knowing that wisdom 
constitutes the real strength of a people, they devised 
means of difi'using instruction as extensively as pos- 
sible, and invited to Athens such as v/ere most dis- 
tinguished, in that day, by their learning or taste. 
Amongst these are mentioned the poets Anacreon and 
Simonides, who were liberally maintained and highly 
honoured by both these princes. But the Athenians 
still panted for their former republican freedom, and 
at length entered into a conspiracy against the sons 



70 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



of Pisistratus, which was attended with fatal conse- 
quences to both parties. Amidst the various and con- 
tradictory records of this event, it is difficult to ascer- 
tain the truth ; but the most probable opinion is, that 
Harmodius and Aristogiton, who were leaders of the 
conspiracy, were actuated by private revenge, rather 
than by patriotic principles. 

Having received a personal afifront from one of the 
reigning princes, they determined to avenge them-* 
selves, by assassinating them both, and restoring the 
commonwealth. The latter of these purposes was so 
congenial to the wishes of the Athenians, that many 
were easily induced to enter into the plot. The conspi- 
rators succeeded so far as to kill Hipparchus, but were 
discouraged from proceeding by the loss of their 
leaders, one of whom was killed, and the other taken. 
And now the real tyranny commenced. Hippias, the 
surviving brother, instigated either by anger or fear, 
proceeded to the greatest excesses of cruelty and in- 
justice, putting to death, on the slightest suspicion, 
many of the best Athenians. These severities but 
served to inflame them, and render them more desir- 
ous of throwing off a yoke which was now become 
most oppressive"^. The more disaffected inhabitants 
applied to the Lacedaemonians, who, after some hesi- 

* An instance of female heroism is related by Plutarch, in con- 
nexion with the preceding- facts, worthy of being- displayed in a 
better cause. Lesena, an Athenian female of the lowest order, at- 
tached to Aristog-iton, was apprehended by Hippias, and, at his 
command, placed on the rack, to extort a discovery of the persons 
concerned in the conspiracy. ^Vlien her suffering's became intole- 
rable, she bit off her tongue, that it mig-ht not be in her power to say 
any thing- to the injury of her friend. In memory of this heroic 
deed, the Athenians placed in their citadel a brazen statue of a 
lioness (in allusion to her name ; without a tong-ue, and with a suit- 
able inscription to her memory. 



ESSAY XI. PISISTRATUS AND HIPPIAS. 



71 



tation, consented to engage in the quarrel, sent an 
army under the command of Cleomenes, and ulti- 
mately expelled Hippias from Athens. From this 
time the Athenians shewed the most implacable en- 
mity to the family of Pisistratus, as well as the highest 
degree of respect to the memory of Harmodius and 
Aristogiton, who, as they supposed, devoted them- 
selves for the salvation of their country. 

The expulsion of Hippias did not, however, give 
peace to Athens. The people were divided into two 
factions, headed by Clisthenes and Isagoras. One of 
these parties was, for a time, supported by the Lace- 
daemonians, who manifested, at that early period, a 
jealousy of the power of the Athenians. They sent a 
considerable army in aid of Isagoras, under one of 
their kings, who met with a signal defeat, and was 
obliged to relinquish the attempt with great disgrace and 
JOSS. After Sparta had withdrawn from the contest, 
the storm of faction subsided by degrees, and the 
Athenian republic enjoyed a temporary tranquillity. 

Herodot. lib. 1. cap. 59, et seq. Plut. in Vit. Solon. Thucyd. 
lib. 6. Herod, lib. 5. 



REFLECTIONS. 

Nothing is more unstable than the human mind. 
Ever prone to extremes, it rushes from love to hatred, 
from veneration to contempt. Circumstances, appa- 
rently fortuitous or trifling, have frequently given to 
the mind, not only of an individual, but of a whole 
nation, a new and opposite bias. Now they are will- 
ing to purchase liberty with their lives, and now are 



72 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



content to resign, without a struggle, both themselves 
and their liberties to an usurper. Now they appear to 
repose securely under the protecting shade of a well- 
ordered government, and now are hurried, by their 
passions, into the whirlpool of destructive anarchy. 
Such were the excesses into which the Athenians were 
frequently driven by their instability of character, as 
is evident from their conduct to Pisistratus and his 
descendants. The general practice of mankind, the 
history of all nations, together with the knowledge of 
our own hearts, conspire to prove, that fickleness and 
uncertainty must ever characterize creatures, and that 
immutability belongs alone to the Divine Creator. 

Monarchs might learn from the preceding portion 
of history, the necessity of living in the affections of 
their people, if they would reign securely and prosper- 
ously. Vain is every attempt to entrench themselves 
by acts of oppression and cruelty ; to rule by terror, 
rather than by love ; or to maintain subordination by 
despotic deeds of injustice. Such efforts are sure to 
prove abortive, and usually recoil upon themselves. 
The mildness of Pisistratus acquired, but the cruelty 
of Hippias lost, the crown of Athens. 

Harmodius and Aristogiton were two comparatively 
obscure individuals, yet how much were they able to 
accomplish by determined perseverance. Without 
noble or powerful alliances, without any of the dig- 
nity or authority of office, they succeeded in a design, 
which, viewed in perspective, might have been sup- 
posed to require numerous campaigns and powerful 
armies. It is a melancholy truth, that to do mischief 
is far easier than to do good. One may demolish with 
ease a fabric, that thousands could scarcely rebuild ! 



ESSAY XI. PISISTRATUS AND HIPPIAS. 



73 



Yet, if those energies were called forth in promoting 
the happiness of mankind, which have been employed 
in the work of destruction — if the same determined 
spirit were seen in those, who are labouring for the 
glory of God, which has been displayed by the mighty 
disturbers of mankind, what good effects might not be 
expected to follow the exertions even of solitary and 
obscure individuals ! 

Whilst profane history records, with honour, the 
invincible courage of Leaena, shall we not take occasion 
from it, to point to those Christian Heroes who 
suffered in a far nobler cause, and obtained a more 
glorious crown of martyrdom ? " They were tortured, 
not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a 
better resurrection ; they had trials of cruel mockings 
and scourgings, yea, moreover, of bonds and imprison- 
ments ; they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, 
were tempted, were slain with the sword : they wan- 
dered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins, being des- 
titute, afflicted, tormented ; of whom the world was 
not worthy." — Heb. xi. 35 — 38. These need not the 
transitory honours of brazen or golden statues, for 
they now 'inherit the promises." They are before 
the throne of the eternal Jehovah, arrayed in white 
robes, with palms of victory in their hands. Let us 
also, fired by their example, and anticipating their re- 
ward, " be faithful unto death, and we shall receive a 
crown of life." 



74 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



ESSAY XII. 

Of the earliest Philosophers of Greece. 

Philosophy flourished at a very early period 
amongst the Greeks. This tender plant may even be 
said to have been produced and nurtured in the terrr^ 
tories of Greece. For though other branches of sci- 
ence, which prepared thew^ay for the different systems 
of philosophy, w^ere cultivated in Egypt, Chaldaea, 
and Persia long before, it does not appear that any 
individuals, w\\o could deserve the name of philoso- 
phers, arose amongst those eastern nations, till after 
the most distinguished in Greece had established their 
schools. The greater part of these w^ere, indeed, in- 
debted to eastern scholars for those discoveries in sci- 
ence, (especially in astronomical science,) and that 
general knowledge, which formed the materials of 
their respective systems ; as it was accounted in those 
days an essential branch of a literary education, to 
take the tour of Egypt and Assyria. 

The first mode of philosophizing in Greece was by 
allegory or fable, of which -^sop was an early exam- 
ple. This was followed by the Gnomonic philosophers, 
who taught morals, or communicated political science 
by means of proverbs, apothegms, or detached sen- 
tences. But Thales, of Miletus in Ionia, was the 
first who reduced the philosophical knowledge of that 
age to a system. He was one of the seven Grecian 
sages, the father of Grecian philosophy, and the 
founder of the Ionic sect. He flourished about 580 



ESSAY XII. 



STATE OF PHILOSOPHY. 



75 



years before the Christian sera. By him, the elements 
both of geometry and astronomy were introduced into 
Greece. As a proof of the former, it is believed, that 
many of the geometrical propositions, which were 
afterwards collected by Euclid, were invented by him. 
In confirmation of the latter, he is said to have fixed 
the term and duration of the solar year ; calculated 
eclipses, and discovered their cause, so as greatly to 
allay the fears of the superstitious multitude ; ob- 
served the solstices and equinoxes ; and made a va- 
riety of other astronomical researches and calculations, 
equally surprising to his contemporaries. The dis- 
tinguishing feature of his natural philosophy was, 
that water is the first principle of all bodies ; a notion 
which he probably derived from observing the ferti- 
lizing influence of the Nile. He had some faint idea 
of the existence of a Supreme Being, who was the soul 
of the universe ; and is supposed, by some, to have 
taught the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. 
He died at the advanced period of ninety years, while 
sitting as a spectator of the Olympic games. 

Anaximander and Anaximenes were amongst his 
disciples, who disseminated more widely, the system 
of philosophy their master had taught, though with 
some alterations and improvements. The former of 
these rejected the theory of Thales, which has been 
mentioned as his peculiar tenet, and contended that 
infinity is the universal principle. He reduced all na- 
tural bodies to four elementary substances, earth, air, 
fire, and water ; formed a rude draught of the solar 
system, of which the earth was supposed to be the 
centre ; and, together with Anagoras, announced to 
the heathen world, a self-existent, all-perfect mind, 



76 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



that was the great cause and author of the material 
world. Obscure as were their conceptions on moral 
and religious subjects>, and trifling as many of their 
philosophical tenets may appear to proficients in 
modern science, they were considered, at that period 
of general darkness, truly astonishing, and sufficient 
to elevate the persons who taught them to the rank 
of demigods. 

Solon has been already alluded to as a legislator 
and statesman, but he no less deserves to be enrolled, 
with honour, amongst the early philosophers of Greece. 
From his intimate acquaintance with Thales, it is pro- 
bable th^t their opinions in philosophy harmonized ; 
and, consequently, that the Ionic sect may lay a fair 
claim to this celebrated Athenian, as one of its brightest 
ornaments. Although policy led him to conform to 
popular prejudices, in his statutes respecting religious, 
or, more properly, superstitious worship, it may be 
collected even from his civil code, that he despised 
many of the mythological fables, then commonly 
believed, and approached nearer to a belief in one 
Supreme Deity than any of his contemporaries. 

But the name of Pythagoras is yet more famous 
in the annals of Greek philosophy. He was born at 
Samos, about 600 years before Christ. He was early 
fired with the example, and enamoured with the phi- 
losophy of Thales and his disciples, and resolved to 
rival them in fame. In common with his predecessors, 
he borrowed the rudiments of his philosophy from 
Egypt. He was, indeed, more indebted to that people 
than anyvothers of his brethren ; for he was initiated 
into all their mysteries, — often associated with their 
priests in the celebration of idolatrous rites, and lived 



ESSAY XII. 



STATE OF PHILOSOPHY. 



77 



upwards of twenty-five years in that country, amongst 
the wisest and most learned men it contained. This 
gave him great influence and reputation after his re- 
turn to Samos, and enabled him to found a new sect, 
usually called the Italic, which flourished nearly 400 
years. He began with education, and the formation 
of early habits ; he prescribed rules for the conduct of 
his disciples, which were designed to restrain their 
passions, excite to virtuous emulation, and prepare 
them for public life. Amongst other regulations, he 
strictly enjoined all who belonged to the Pythagorean 
sect, as their earliest and latest work, to review the 
actions of the past, and, if time permitted, of many 
preceding days. In the morning they were required 
to repair alone, either to the temples, or to solitary 
mountains and forests, for retired meditation. After 
having thus conversed with themselves, they were to 
partake of a frugal public meal, enlivened by social 
converse. The evening was to be spent as the morning, 
except that in their evening meal, the moderate use of 
meat and wine was permitted, from which they rigidly 
abstained during the day. The whole concluded with 
that self-examination, which was a fundamental pre- 
cept of the Pythagorean school. 

The manner in which Pythagoras taught his fol- 
lowers was by symbols, a mode of instruction less ob- 
scure than the Egyptian hieroglyphics, from which 
they were borrowed, and yet less familiar than ordi- 
nary conversation. Having some indistinct notions 
respecting the immortality of the soul, he grafted 
upon them the absurd theory of transmigration ; in 
which he taught that the spiritual part of man passed 
by death from one body to another, either of a higher 



78 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I, 



or lower species, according to their several degrees of 
virtue or vice. He was tlie first that modestly styled 
himself a Philosopher, or lover of wisdom, whereas 
all his predecessors were called Sophists, or wise men. 

Pythagoras, after his return, espoused too warmly 
and openly the cause of civil liberty, and thus rendered 
himself an object of suspicion and hatred to the tyrant 
of Samos. It became, therefore, necessary to his 
safety that he should quit that island, after having 
proved its benefactor and ornament, and retire first to 
the Peloponnesus, and afterwairds to Crotona in Italy, 
where he died. 

Aristot. Metaph. Plut. Sympos. Diog-en. Laert. lib. 8. Cicero. 
Tusc. Quaest. Aristoxeii. de Pytliag. 



REFLECTIONS. 

So true is it that "the world by wisdom knew not 
God !" Where is the wise man — where is the scribe 
— where is the disputer of this world" — he that is 
admired, applauded, almost deified by the myriads of 
his fellow-creatures ? Let him be brought to the light 
of revelation. Let his opinions, his doctrines, his 
systems, or rather, his idle speculations, be submitted 
to the test of unerring truth. How frivolous, how 
irrational, how absurd do they appear ! What gross 
conceptions does he form of the only living and true 
God, in whom he lives, moves, and exists ! How blind 
is he to those characters of wisdom and purity, that 
impress of Jehovah, which may be traced even in 
the things that are seen which proclaim the " eter- 
nal power and godhead" of his divine Creator ! How 



ESSAY XII. STATE OP PHILOSOPHY. 79 

completely is he infatuated and deluded by the pride 
of his own perverted understanding ! 

Yet as far as the ancient philosophers were humble 
and sincere inquirers after truth in a benighted and 
remote age, they claim our pity, and are worthy of 
imitation. They had to oppose the united currents of 
popular prejudice, prevailing ignorance, and strong 
delusion, with the feeble powers of human reason 
alone, or at best, with some imperfect and corrupt 
traditions of revealed truth : but " we have a more 
sure word of prophecy ;" a pure and infallible 
standard of faith and practice ; a sacred "light that 
shineth in a dark place." If they, who laboured under 
such discouragements, and struggled with such diffi- 
culties, approached the confines of true wisdom, or 
piety, will it not be far more tolerable for them in the 
day of judgment, than for those, who, having fully 
** known the way of righteousness, turn from the holy 
commandment delivered to them ? " The times of 
former ignorance," we are assured by an inspired 
apostle, God winked at, but now commandeth all 
men every where to repent." Blest with a divine 
revelation, there is no shadow of excuse for ignorance 
of God, his works, and his ways. The delusions of 
error, the bonds of superstition, the yoke of unbelief, 
ought no longer to fetter the mind. The lingering 
shades of mental and spiritual darkness, which so long 
enveloped the earth, may surely be expected to vanish 
at the rising of the "Sun of Righteousness." 

Let not the professed disciples of Jesus be unwilling 
to learn, even from the maxims of Pythagoras, the 
advantages of retirement and self-communion. Blush, 
ye that bear the Christian name, to see yourselves far 



80 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



outdone by many of the virtuous heathen! They were 
wont to repair morning and evening to the temple, or 
to some retired spot fitted for secret devotion, and 
there took a retrospect of life — there they communed 
with their own hearts — there they ignorantly, but let 
us hope, sincerely, worshipped God. But you spend 
your days without meditation, without self-inquiry, 
without prayer ! If it be so, will not these heathen, 
at the great day, rise up in judgment against you, and 
condemn you at the dread tribunal? 

In proportion as we are the disciples of a greater 
Master, and belong, (if the expression may be per- 
mitted,) to a higher school of Philosophy, in which 
more sublime doctrines are taught, and purer precepts 
inculcated, it becomes us to rise far above the level of 
the disciples of Thales or Pythagoras, in the exercise 
of holy aiFections and moral duties. Let not the reli- 
gion of Jesus be so dishonoured, as to produce in the 
tempers and lives of those who profess it, no choicer 
fruits than might be gathered from the wastes and 
wales of heathen philosophy. Let it not be said, that 
the disciples of Pythagoras held in higher veneration 
their master, and were more subject to his authority, 
than Christians, Him whom they call Master and 
Lord. Let every one, and especially every ingenuous 
youth, who may read these reflections, aspire to the 
honour of being enrolled in the list of philosophers ; 
that is, let him prove himself a lover of true wisdom — 
by loving the Scriptures, for they are able to make 
wise to salvation — ^by loving Christ, for he is empha- 
tically styled, the Wisdom of God, and the Power 
of God." 



ESSAY XIIl. ANCIENT GREEK POETS.- 



81 



ESSAY XIII. 

On the earliest Greek Poets. 

Poetry differs from most human attainments, inas- 
much as it is common to every stage of society, from 
complete barbarism, to the highest degree of refine- 
ment. In tracing the origin of nations, the historian 
almost universally discovers the daw^n of poetry, 
amongst the first objects that engage his attention. 
Next to hieroglyphics, it was the most ancient mode 
of communicating knov^ledge of every description. 
Laws were in ancient times promulgated in verse. 
Morality was taught, and historical traditions were 
recorded in verse. Philosophers, legislators, states- 
men, historians, all who would apply their knowledge 
or experience to the instruction or amusement of 
others, must necessarily be poets. The responses of 
the oracles were usually, if not invariably, given in 
verse. On these accounts, the character of the poet 
was considered dignified and sacred. His person was 
secure in the midst of hostile armies, and his effusions 
were, in the rudest ages, ascribed to divine inspira- 
tion. 

The first of the Greek poets, whose name has been 
transmitted to posterity, though none of his verses 
have been preserved, was Linus, of whom, as well as 
of his pupils and successors in poetic fame, nothing 
can be collected with any degree of certainty. All 
that the historian who pays a sacred regard to truth, 
is justified in stating concerning them, is, that they 

6 



82 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



contributed greatly, by their poems, towards forming 
the fabulous mythology of Greece, were esteemed 
prophets as well as poets, and almost worshipped as 
deities by the ignorant multitude. 

The genuine history of Grecian poetry must, how- 
ever, be considered as commencing with Homer, 
whose incomparable productions still live, and must 
continue to be admired, so long as sublimity of 
thought, grandeur of expression, beauty of imagery, 
harmony of numbers, and refined taste, are capable of 
being understood and appreciated. The dispute re- 
specting his birth-place is of so long standing, that it 
would now be equally vain and presumptuous to decide 
upon it. Amongst the seven cities that contended for 
this honour, Smyrna seems to have the fairest claim. 
In the former part of his life, he is said to have gained 
a precarious subsistence, by wandering from place to 
place, and reciting verses of his own composition, 
after the manner of the ancient British bards. But, 
in more advanced life, he supported himself by the 
education of youth. It is universally agreed that he 
shared in the common lot of poets, lived in poverty, 
and received that honour and applause after his death, 
which envy refused to his transcendent merits while 
living. 

This " Father of Poetry," (as he has been frequently 
and deservedly called,) became blind at an early period 
of his life, but not till after his imagination had been 
richly fraught, and indelibly impressed with those 
delightful objects of nature, which are so accurately 
and beautifully delineated in his poems. The species 
of poetry in which he excelled, is that which has, in 
later ages, been denominated epic^ of which, his two 



ESSAY XIII. ANCIENT GREEK POETS. 83 

principal poems, the Iliad and Odyssey, are con- 
sidered the most perfect, as well as most ancient 
models. A biographer of the Grecian bard, after 
having related the sad tale of his necessitous life, 
adds, "if we recal the mind from the dark view of 
his story, and fix it upon the relics he has left us, our 
pity is turned into a deeper wonder. We forget the rude 
draught of his person and fortune, to contemplate on 
the nobler image of his soul. The blind songster im- 
mediately vanishes, and in his room we are presented 
with the father and prince of verse, the preacher of 
wisdom and virtue, the founder of arts and sciences, the 
great master of civil life, and the counsellor of kings*." 
Horace has, in a few words, given us a fair estimate 
of Homer's character and writings : 

Qui, quid sit pulchrum, quid turpe ; quid utile, quid non, 
Planius, ac melius Chrysippo et Crantore dicit: — 
Rursum quid virtus, et quid sapientia possit. 
Utile proposuit nobis exemplar Ulyssemt. 

HoR. Epist. lib. 1. ep. 2. 

Hesiod is supposed to have been contemporary 
with Homer. He was born at Cuma in .^olia, but 
brought up at Ascra in B(Eotia. His first employment 
was to tend sheep on the summit of Mount Helicon, 
where both leisure and solitude conspired to form the 
future poet. Deprived by a brother's injustice of the 
patrimony that fell to him on his father's death, he 
betook himself to the Muses for solace and content- 

* Kennet's Lives of the Grecian Poets. 

•f* Who, what is g^ood or ill, precious or vile. 
Has better taught, in more attractive style. 
Than all the formal theoretic rules 
Philosophers inculcate in their schools. 
In his Ulysses, he has aim'd to shew. 
What valour can, when join'd to wisdom, do. 
G 2 



84 



HISTORY OP GREECE. 



BOOK Sc 



ment. In their service he spent his remaining days. 
It is even affirmed, that after a long and doubtful con- 
test \yith Homer, he carried off the prize from the epic 
bard. His remaining poems are " the Works and 
Days,'* a didactic poem on agriculture, which Virgil 
took for his model when writing his Georgics ; "the 
Theogony," containing the most ancient account of the 
genealogy of the heathen gods and goddesses ; and 
" the Shield of Hercules,'' intended to celebrate the 
most illustrious heroines of antiquity. It has, how- 
ever, been disputed by critics, whether the two last of 
these are the genuine remains of Hesiod. 

Archilochus must not be wholly overlooked, in 
rapidly glancing at the earliest Greek poets. For, 
though no remains of his poetry are extant, he is ge- 
nerally supposed to have invented iambic verse, a 
species of poetry peculiarly adapted to vehement and 
impassioned subjects. He was born at Paros, an 
island of the iEgean sea, and seems to have spent all 
his days in writing satirical and licentious verses. 
On account of the immoral tendency of his poems, 
they were banished from the Lacedaemonian republic ; 
and, for the same reason, there is no cause to regret 
that they are lost to posterity. He flourished about 
718 years before Christ. 

The names of Sappho and ALCiEus may, with the 
utmost propriety, be coupled together, as they were 
contemporaries ; both natives of Mitylene, the capital 
of Lisbos ; both excelled in lyric verse ; and both in- 
vented a species of lyric measure, that continues to 
bear their respective names, the Alcaic and the Sap- 
phic. The poetess acquired much the greater portion 
of fame, insomuch as to be frequently called the 



ESSAY XIII. ANCIENT GREEK POETS. 



85 



tenth muse. Her poetry has been applauded for its 
beauty, its tenderness, the harmony of its numbers, 
its softness and sweetness— .but, alas ! it was scarcely 
less distinguished by impurity of thought and licen- 
tiousness of expression. 

Anacreon can only be mentioned for the purpose 
of cautioning youth against the contaminating influ- 
ence of his songs. He lived in the court of Poly- 
crates, king of Samos, who admitted him to the most 
intimate familiarity. He professed to live only for 
sensual gratification, and prostituted those exquisite 
talents, with which he was endowed, to the most de- 
grading pursuits. Ancient fable attributes his death 
to a grape stone, by which we are, probably, to under- 
stand, that he died in a fit of intoxication*. 

Paiisan. et Strab. Geograph. Hesiod. Oper. Suidas. Dionys. 
Halic. de Vit. Script. Laert. lib. 1, Sfc. S^c. 



REFLECTIONS. 

The influence of the most admired poems of anti- 
quity is much greater than is generally imagined ; 
those more especially, which form an essential part 
of a classical education. The subjects of which they 
treat, the characters they introduce, the style of their 
composition, their decorations, and even their anti- 
quity — all are calculated to produce a powerful efi^ect 

* Several other poets are known to have flourished during- the 
above-mentioned period; as, for example, Musseus, Melampus, 
Tyi-tseus, and Callinus, whose names indeed remain, but of whose 
works few traces are to be found. The period at which these early 
poets of Greece lived, has been so much disputed, and remains so 
uncertain, that the author did not feel himself justified in determining- 
their chronolog-y. 



86 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



on their admirers. But what is that effect likely to 
be ? What are the passions which they are calculated 
to enkindle in the youthful bosom ? What is the spe- 
cies of ambitious feeling they cherish ? Is it the noble 
ambition of pleasing God by doing his will ? Are they 
the sacred passions of holy zeal, humble faith, or di- 
vine love ? Do they leave on the mind a deep and 
abiding impression of heartfelt piety and devotion ! 
Alas, no ! too often the direct reverse. Many of them 
cannot be read without dire contagion. And even 
those, that are considered most unexceptionable, have 
no higher aim than to inspire military ardour — no 
other tendency than to accustom the youthful imagi- 
nation to riot amongst scenes of blood 

* The author cannot deny himself the pleasure of inserting in 
this place, a short extract from a well-known essay, *' On the Aver- 
sion of Men of Taste to Evangelical Religion," which contains senti- 
ments in perfect unison with the preceding reflections. 

" Homer, you know, is the favourite of the whole civilized world ; 
and it is many centuries since there needed one additional word of 
homage to the amazing genius displayed in the Iliad. The ohject 
of inquiry is, what kind of predisposition will be formed toward 
Christianity in a young and animated spirit, that learns to glow with 
enthusiasm at the scenes created by Homer, and to indulge an ardent 
wish, which that enthusiasm will probably awaken, for the possibility 
of emulating some of the principal characters. Let this susceptible 
youth, after having mingled and burned in imagination among 
heroes, whose valour and anger flame like Vesuvius, who wade in 
blood, trample on dying foes, and hurl defiance against earth and 
heaven: let him be led into the company of Jesus Christ and his 
disciples, as displayed by the evangelists, with whose narrative, I 
will suppose, he is but slightly acquainted before. ^Vhat must he, 
what can he, do with his feelings in this transition ? He will find 
himself flung as far as ' from the centre to the utmost pole and 
one of these two opposite exhibitions of character will inevitably 
excite his aversion. Which of them is that likely to be, if he is 
become thoroughly possessed vrith the Homeric passions ?" — Fos- 
ter's Essays, vol. ii- pp. 134, 135. 



ESSAY XIII. ANCIENT GREEK POETRY. 



It is readily admitted, that these relics of antiquity 
have tended to enrich the imagination, and refine the 
taste — that here and there may be picked up a gem of 
intrinsic moral worth— that the study of them may 
serve to polish the modern productions of poetic ge- 
nius — and that, if those who read them are under the 
predominant influence of Christian principle, they 
may be rendered subservient to moral and religious 
purposes^ — yet the instructor of youth cannot too 
often, or too early, guard his pupils against the false 
sentiments they contain, and the anti-christian spirit 
they breathe. He cannot too earnestly caution them 
against an excessive admiration of their brilliant pro- 
ductions. He cannot too solemnly warn them of the 
danger of drawing from their writings principles of 
action, as well as rules of taste or criticism. The 
purest of the heathen poets stand in need of some 
such corrective to be carefully administered. 

One amongst other proofs of human depravity may 
be drawn from the regard, amounting even to venera- 
tion, in which these productions have been held by 
men of learning in all ages and countries, while so 
few are alive to the richer beauties, the more sublime 
imagery, as well as higher antiquity, of the poems 
contained in the Sacred Scriptures ; poems which, in- 
stead of vitiating, purify the heart ; instead of de- 
grading, elevate the moral character ; and which, 
while they make rich, add no sorrow thereto." If 
we would gratify and improve our taste— if we desire 
to rove at large amidst a thousand wonders and beau- 
ties, which nature never yet exhibited, nor the most 
creative fancy devised- — if we would have our facul- 
ties enlarged, and our minds ennobled, by the con- 



88 HISTORY OP GREECE. BOOK I. 

templation of the most sublime scenes and heavenly 
visions — let us, v^ith hallowed feet, approach the en- 
chanting regions of Revelation, for there alone these 
sacred pleasures can be enjoyed. 

There consecrated water flows. 

To quench our thirst of sin. 
There the fair tree of knowledge grows, 

Nor danger dwells therein. Watts. 



ESSAY XIV. 
On the Oracles of Greece. 

Before the first period of Grecian history is con- 
cluded, it may be of use to the juvenile reader, to be 
more particularly informed of the origin and influence 
of those institutions, w^hich arose during the fabulous 
ages. It is the more necessary that these should be 
distinctly explained, because they are interwoven with 
the concerns, not of a particular state, but of the 
whole of Greece ; and there will be frequent occasion 
to allude to them in subsequent essays. The princi- 
pal of these institutions were, the Oracles, the 
Council of Amphictyons, and the Public Games. 
At present our attention will be confined to the former 
of these. 

Oracles were undoubtedly of high antiquity, though 
the precise time of their commencement or cessation is 
not known. They were considered the highest and 
most sacred form of divination ; proceeding more di- 
rectly from their supposed deities. The places in 
which those oracles were delivered, were conceived to 



ESSAY XIV. 



ANCIENT ORACLES. 



89 



be the peculiar residence of those imaginary gods to 
whom they were consecrated. There the secrets of 
futurity were to be explored — there counsel and di- 
rection were to be sought — there doubts and myste- 
ries were to be solved. It was esteemed the duty of 
persons of all ranks, in all affairs of importance, whe- 
ther public or private, to consult some of these oracles, 
whose instructions v/ere supposed to be infallible. 

The most ancient of the Grecian oracles was that 
of Jupiter, at Dodona, which was at first a simple 
altar, or probably a hollow oak, out of which an ob- 
scure prophetess delivered oracular responses to her 
deluded votaries ; but afterwards grew into a superb 
temple and college of priests, enriched with the costly 
offerings of superstitious devotees. 

The success of the Dodonean oracle gave rise to 
several others, some of which were supposed to be- 
long to Jupiter, and others to Apollo. Amongst the 
former was that of Olympia, which was frequented 
before the institution of the Olympic games. This 
oracle was once famous, but did not continue long in 
repute. The temple of Jupiter erected there was long 
preserved in its ancient splendour, and magnificently 
adorned ; but the oracle was quickly superseded by the 
increasing fame and superior wisdom of the Delphic 
oracle. 

After having belonged, according to ancient fable, 
to many different gods and goddesses, the far-famed 
oracle at Delphos at length devolved to Apollo, who 
was supposed to preside over all kinds of auguries and 
divinations. It was situated on the southern side of 
Parnassus, where the mountain crags formed a natural 
amphitheatre, exceedingly difficult of access. In the 



90 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



centre of this space was a deep cavern, which dis- 
charged, from a small orifice, a vapour that produced 
a sort of intoxicating frenzy in those who inhaled it. 
The Pythoness, a priestess of Apollo, who uttered the 
oracle, was seated on a tripod over the mouth of this 
cavern, and usually became inebriated, or even vio- 
lently convulsed, by the fumes that ascended. What- 
ever incoherent words she then uttered, were collected 
by the priests, rendered into verse, and delivered as 
the infallible predictions of the Pythian Apollo. If 
the persons consulting the oracle were rich and power- 
ful — if they had made costly offerings to Apollo's 
shrine — or if, by their authority, they were able to 
overawe the ministers of that temple — the response 
was for the most part favourable to their wishes. 
But, in other cases, either the answers were delayed, 
or they were so ambiguous and unintelligible, as com- 
pletely to perplex the deluded inquirer. In almost 
every instance, the sentence of the oracle admitted of 
so various, and even opposite, interpretations, that its 
credit was saved, and even its reputation heightened, 
whatever might be the issue of events. 

In giving a brief account of the Grecian oracles, it 
would be inexcusable to omit mentioning the oracle of 
Trophonius at Lebadea, a city of Boeotia. This place 
was a dark cave, so low, that the person consulting the 
oracle was obliged to enter it on his hands and knees, 
and lying on the ground to wait the response. The 
situation, the mysterious noises that proceeded from 
the depths of the cavern, the thick darkness in which 
they were enveloped — all were calculated to produce a 
powerful effect on the deluded votaries. Their senses 
were deceived, their feelings highly excited, terror 



ESSAY XIV. ANCIENT ORACLES. 



91 



shook their frames ; and, under these strong impres- 
sions of body and mind, they were prepared to re- 
ceive vi^ith awe, whatever reply the artifices of the 
priest might suggest. The Greeks used, therefore, to 
say of a very melancholy person, " He has been con- 
sulting the oracle of Trophonius." 

All that has been recorded concerning these ancient 
oracles, conspires to prove, that they were most egre- 
gious impostures of human contrivance, founded on 
superstition, and supported by policy and interest. It 
is not indeed unlikely, that the idea first originated in 
some traditions respecting divine revelation, and the 
communications of Jehovah to the Jewish patriarchs 
and prophets, which the Greeks had received through 
the medium of the Egyptians. But if this were the 
case, what a superstructure of ignorance and vice was 
erected on this base ! What a strong delusion grew 
out of traditions, in themselves true, but grossly per- 
verted by the wickedness of man ! 

Considered merely as a political engine, the oracles 
were of no ordinary importance. Legislators found 
it highly advantageous to obtain their sanction. Kings 
and generals of armies depended greatly on their de- 
cisions for the popularity, and consequently in part, for 
the success, of their measures. Rival states, when on 
the eve of war, were sometimes conciliated, and their 
mutual jealousies removed by the interference of the 
oracle. Not unfrequently were all the energies of 
Greece called out, either to repel an invading foe, or 
to engage in some foreign expedition, at the command 
of the Delphic Apollo. Besides these political uses, 
the oracles were of advantage to literature. Poetry 
was the more honoured and cultivated, because the 



92 



HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK I. 



responses of the oracles were delivered in verse. Taste 
and science w^ere tributary to them, as is most evi- 
dent from the " Hymns to Apollo," and other similar 
relics of antiquity. 

But w^hen considered in connexion vi^ith their moral 
and religious influence, they must be confessed to 
have been most baneful. By their well-known vena- 
lity, they sanctioned every species of bribery and cor- 
ruption. By their dissimulation, they gave encou- 
ragement to falsehood and duplicity, and led to the 
frequent violation of public faith. By their myste- 
rious (for they cannot be denominated religious) rites, 
they deepened the gloom of superstition, and strength- 
ened the bonds of iniquity. They were the colossal 
pillars that supported, during many ages, the temple 
of Ignorance — the fortresses that surrounded the 
throne, and guarded the empire of " the god of this 
world." At whatever period they ceased, the words 
of Jesus were then verified, " I beheld Satan, as 
lightning fall from heaven." 

The historical facts related in this, and the two following essays, 
will be found scattered through the histories of Herodotus and Dio- 
dorus Siculus, the ancient geographies of Strabo and Pausanias, 
and some circumstances are collected from Homer, Odyss. Statius, 
Plutarch, Sfc. 



REFLECTIONS. 

The more we compassionate their condition, who 
were under these strong delusions of the father of 
lies," the more highly should we esteem those lively 
oracles, to which we have free access — the oracles of 
eternal truth. These we are not only permitted, but 



ESSAY XIV. ANCIENT ORACLES. 



93 



commanded, frequently to consult. They reveal the 
solemn realities of a future state ; they bring life and 
immortality to light ; they discover the mind of Je- 
hovah, as far as it is necessary to be knov^^n by mor- 
tals. Their counsels may be safely follov^^ed in all the 
exigencies of human life; their predictions cannot fail 
of accomplishment in due time. Never did any trust 
in them, and were confounded. In coming to these 
sacred oracles, no costly offerings are required — no 
painful or expensive sacrifices are demanded. An 
humble, a sincere, a contrite heart, is the only pre- 
requisite they claim. No partiality, no respect of per- 
sons, has ever appeared in them, for to the wise and 
ignorant, to the rich and poor, to the bond and free, 
without money and without price, they speak " the 
words of truth and soberness." They fill none but 
the guilty conscience with terror ; they convulse not 
the outward frame, but they penetrate to the inmost 
soul : for " they are quick and powerful, sharper than 
any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing 
asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and mar- 
row, and are a discerner of the thoughts and intents of 
the heart." 

Those corrupt and fictitious oracles, of which Greece 
boasted, yet served, on many occasions, to unite the 
separate states ; to conciliate their discordant tem- 
pers ; and awaken them to a sense of their common 
interest. And shall not the Sacred Oracles much 
rather tend to peace and union amongst Christians ? 
Shall they not prove a bond that unites them more 
closely — a standard round which they rally, prepared 
to encounter, with combined energies, the common 
foe ? In prompt obedience to the command of these 



94 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



oracles of the living God, let Christians lay aside their 
narrow jealousies, their selfish party-views — let them 
cease from their mutual strifes and contentions — let 
them love as brethren, and labour diligently for the 
good of the whole body^ — let them put on the whole 
armour of God, and go forth to contend with spi- 
ritual wickedness in high places ! " 

That heathens should make their religion subservient 
to state policy, and use their most revered ceremonies 
as mere engines of interest or ambition, excites no 
surprise. And it must be confessed, that their reli- 
gious system, (if it deserves the name) was admirably 
fitted to answer such purposes. But shall the Gospel 
of Christ be thus dishonoured, profaned, prostituted ? 
Shall our holy religion be constrained to bow to 
measures of worldly policy, of secular interest, of po- 
litical ambition? God forbid, that the nature and 
genius of the Christian religion should ever be so mis- 
taken by its professed advocates, or debased by its 
false friends, as to be thus perverted ! Let the words 
of its divine founder never be forgotten by us : " My ^ 
kingdom is not of this world." 



ESSAY XV. 

On the Council of AmpMctyons, 

The second of those institutions which were men- 
tioned in the preceding essay, as having originated 
during the fabulous ages, and through a long succes- 
sion of years, having had an important influence on 
the general aflfairs of Greece, was the Amphictyonic 



ESSAY XV. AMPHICTYONIC COUNCIL. 



95 



Council. This was an assembly of deputies from ten, 
or, as some say, twelve of the provinces, into which 
the territories of the Greeks were divided, appointed 
for the express purpose of watching over their common 
interests. The founder of this institution is not cer- 
tainly known. Some historians ascribe it to Amphic- 
tyon, the son of Deucalion, (or, as others say, of 
Helenus,) who was one of the earliest kings of Athens. 
Others attribute the constitution of this assembly to 
Acrisius, king of Argos, and grandfather of Perseus, 
who lived more than 150 years after Amphictyon. 
The more probable opinion is, that the first rude 
sketch of this establishment was devised by Amphic- 
tyon, but that it was afterwards more regularly con- 
stituted, its objects defined, its limits extended, and 
its authority recognised by Acrisius. 

The Council of Amphictyons met twice in a year, 
viz.y in the spring and autumn, besides on extraordi- 
nary occasions, when they assembled by special sum- 
mons. Originally, the place of meeting was Ther- 
mopylae, on the frontiers of Greece, whose straits 
became so celebrated in the Persian war. But they 
afterwards removed to Delphos, either as a compli- 
ment to Apollo, whose wisdom they needed in their 
deliberations, or on account of its being a more central 
situation. Whatever might have induced the change, 
it is certain the Amphictyons owed much of their au- 
thority among the Greeks to their connexion with the 
temple of Apollo at Delphos. This was considered 
as intrusted to their care, together with the vast 
treasures that had been amassed there during many 
ages. In proportion, therefore, as the reputation and 



96 HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK I. 

wealth of the Delphic oracle increased, the influence 
of the Amphictyonic council increased also. 

Each of the Amphictyonic states* sent two deputies, 
one of whom was to superintend the civil, and the 
other the religious, department. The former of these 
was called Pylagoras, and was elected by popular suf- 
frage; the latter, on account of his religious func- 
tions, was called Theromnemon, and appointed to his 
office, by lot. To impress more deeply the mark of 
sanctity upon their meetings, they were opened v/ith 
solemn sacrifices, lustrations, and other religious rites. 
Amongst these, it is deserving of notice, that an ox 
was divided into as many parts as there were allied 
states, and then sacrificed to Apollo ; a symbolical act 
that evidently denoted the perfect harmony that sub- 
sisted between them, cemented, as they supposed 
themselves to be, by piety and wisdom. These depu- 
ties were empowered to decide all disputes between 
rival states, and concert measures of defence against 
a common adversary. They declined all interference 
with private matters, reserving their deliberations 
solely for public business, questions of peace or war, 
and whatever related to the worship of the gods. Their 
determinations were always received with respect by 
the allied states, who usually enforced their decrees, 
by treating, as common enemies, all who refused sub- 
mission. So long as this institution retained its 
power, the effects were exceedingly beneficial to the 

* The foUovring- were the Amphictyonic states : 

1. lonians. 5. Mag-netes. 9. Malians. 

2. Dorians. 6. Achseans. 10. ^Enians or (Etians. 

3. ^olians. 7. Pthiotes. 11. Dolopians. 
4 Thessalians. 8. Phocians. 13. Locrians. 



fiSSAY XV. AMPHICTYONIC COUNCIL, 



97 



whole of Greece. One province dared not grossly to 
violate the rights of another, lest, through the me- 
dium of this council, all the states should be incensed 
and armed against them. Here, itv^^aswell known, all 
complaints would be lodged ; the relative conduct of 
each, examined by disinterested and impartial judges ; 
and unprovoked injuries signally avenged. Foreign 
powers were constrained to respect this body, and 
deemed it their interest to conciliate the Amphictyons 
by all possible means ; for they knew that both the 
greater and lesser states of Greece would readily ex- 
ert their military or naval energies at the suggestion 
of this council. Even the arms of Philip and Alex- 
ander made little progress in Greece, till they had 
gained, by bribery or artifice, the control of this 
powerful assembly. 

It may not be improper to add here, that in a later 
period of Grecian history, several changes took place 
inthe Amphictyonic states. Some were suspended, and 
others excluded, to make room for their more pros- 
perous neighbours. Long after the associated empire 
of Greece ceased to exist, having been compelled to 
bow before the victorious legions of Rome, the forms 
of this council were preserved, its shade still hovered 
round the Delphic temple, and the assembly met, 
rather to receive the orders of the Roman emperors, 
than to deliberate for themselves. 



REFLBCTIONS. 

Britons may contemplate with peculiar interest this 
venerable institution, which might not improperly be 
called, the Parliament of Greece. It was probably the 

H 



98 



HISTORY OP GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



first specimen of representative government from whose 
constitution, legislators and statesmen in succeeding 
ages have borrowed many important hints. But imper- 
fection must ever characterize even the best and wisest 
of human institutions. Intended, as the Amphictyonic 
council obviously was, to reconcile jarring interests — ^to 
counteract mutual jealousies — to prevent bloodshed— 
and to heal breaches in the several commonwealths, sub- 
sequent essays will shew, how inefficient were its at- 
tempts. Notwithstanding its most strenuous exertions, 
Jong and sanguinary struggles were maintained by rival 
states ; civil wars disgraced the annals of Grecian his- 
tory ; that country was oft-times despoiled of its best 
forces by internal discords and animosities, which the 
council of Amphictyons in vain attempted to allay. 

The truth is — a truth which Scripture teaches, and 
experience confirms — ^that the passions of mankind are 
so easily inflamed, and when inflamed, so irresistibly 
impetuous, that a far more effectual restraint is neces- 
sary than human laws, however wise, or human con- 
stitutions, however excellent. Policy, interest, a re- 
verence for lawful authorities, or the dread of punish- 
ment, may abate for a time the fury of inflammable 
passions ; but are unable to extinguish them altogether. 
They cannot rule the spirit, though they may some- 
times control the outward conduct. But where policy 
or human authority fail — when passion prevails even 
against self-interest — ^I'eligion comes, armed with di- 
vine power, and with a mild but omnipotent voice, 
hushes the storm, controls the tumultuous passions 
and tranquillizes the minds of men. She interposes to 
reconcile their differences, to terminate their conten- 
tions, and make them one in Christ Jesus. She teaches 



&SSAV XV. AMPHICTYONIC COUNCIL. 



99 



them to prefer the peace and prosperity of Zion, to all 
their private interests ; not to seek their own so much 
as the things that are Jesus Christ's. Like a wise, an 
unerring counsellor, she directs them when they are 
most liable to err, in forming a just estimate of things 
temporal and things eternal — in using this world, so 
as not to abuse it ; — and in elevating the affections 
above the gliding pageants of time, to fix them on 
eternal realities. 

Let us not refuse to gather up the fragments of In- 
struction, which the subject of the present essay fur- 
nishes, that nothing may be lost. From the constitu- 
tion of this deliberate council, let us learn to connect 
a regard for religion, and an attention to its sacred 
duties, with the ordinary business of life. Let every 
day have not only its Pylagoras, but also its Therein- 
nemon, that is, not only its civil, but also its religious, 
engagements. Let piety diffuse itself through all our 
ordinary pursuits. From the place selected by the 
Amphictyons for their deliberations, Delphos, where 
stood the temple of wisdom, and where the god of wis- 
dom was supposed to reside — let us learn to repair to 
the fountain-head of knowledge ; to seek that wisdom 
that Cometh down from above, by frequenting the 
sanctuary of God, and by a diligent use of all appointed 
means ; and, in all the exigencies of human life, not 
to lean to our own understanding, but ever to seek 
divine instructions. And finally, from the religious 
ceremonies, with which they began and ended all their 
assemblies, let us learn to pray always and not to faint : 
and in all our ways let us acknowledge God, and he will 
direct our paths. Every engagement is unlawful, every 
pleasure sinful, on which we dare not supplicate the 

H 2 



100 



HISTORY OP GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



divine blessing ; whilst even the most ordinary avoca- 
tions of life may be " sanctified," and, in a measure, 
consecrated, " by the word of God and by prayer." 



ESSAY XVI. 

On the Public Games. 

From the earliest times the Greeks were accustomed 
to hold festive meetings, in which athletic exercises, 
resembling those which are still practised in rustic 
wakes, were performed. Whatever was calculated to 
inure the body to the hardships and labours of a mili- 
tary life, was encouraged by their leaders. As the 
Grecian states became more cultivated and refined, 
their amusements were of a higher order, and ap- 
proached nearer to the tilts and tournaments celebrated 
in the age of chivalry. At length these festivities at- 
tracted so much attention, as to collect multitudes from 
every part of Greece ; and regulations respecting them 
were introduced in the civil and religious code of each 
city or province. Strange as it may appear, these pub- 
lic exercises were accounted a kind of religious solem- 
nity : they were instituted in honour of some god or 
deified hero. They were celebrated near the temple of 
those imaginary deities, whose ministers or priests, in 
some instances, awarded the prizes to the victors. A 
most decisive proof of their being esteemed religious 
rites, may be drawn from the practice, universally pre- 
valent, of beginning and ending those assemblies with 
sacrifices. 



ESSAY XVI. 



PUBLIC GAMES. 



101 



There were four places at which these public games 
were celebrated, at intervals of four years each ; so 
that these festivals, which were common to the whole 
Greek nation, were, in reality, annual meetings. The 
first, both as to antiquity and celebrity, was held at 
Olympia, a city of Elis. The Olympic games are sup- 
posed to have been instituted by Pelops, in honour of 
Jupiter, but were long afterwards re-instituted by 
Iphitus, a contemporary of Lycurgus. The second in 
importance were the Pythian games, celebrated at Del- 
phos, in honour of Apollo, and patronised by the Am- 
phictyonic council. The third were the Isthmian, so 
called from their being celebrated on the Isthmus of 
Corinth, in honour of Neptune, whose temple over- 
looked the scene of their festivities. The fourth were 
the Nemean, instituted, some say, in honour of Juno ; 
others, of Jupiter ; and others, of Archemorus, the son 
of one of the kings of Nemea, who was killed by a ser- 
pent. As Nemea was a village of Argos, the people 
of that kingdom presided at the festival. 

In all of these public games, the favourite exercises 
w^ere those which conduced most to inspire military am- 
bition, and produce distinguished warriors. The palm 
was awarded to those who excelled in strength or 
agility, because these qualities were most important 
in war. The champions contended in leaping, running, 
throwing the discus or quoit, darting the javelin, and 
wrestling. Besides these, there were horse and chariot 
races, in which princes and distinguished warriors 
emulated each other in the splendour of their chariots, 
and in the number, beauty, or speed of their horses. 
The exercises were not, however, confined to these cor- 
poral labours: there were others of a more rational 



102 



HISTORY 



OF GREECE. 



BOOK 1. 



and intellectual nature. Poets, musicians, artists, his- 
torians and tragedians, not unfrequently entered the 
lists, and in their respective departments, contended for 
the prize. At the Olympic games, Euripides contended 
with Sophocles for the palm of tragedy. Herodotus 
too acquired great applause, by reciting passages from 
his history, in the Olympian amphitheatre. At the 
Pythian games, the arts of music and poetry were par- 
ticularly cultivated : the praises of Apollo were the per- 
petual theme to which the lyres and voices of the can- 
didates for fame were attuned. 

The emulation excited by these public festivals is 
almost inconceivable. If ancient writers may be cre- 
dited on this subject, some have died of grief, on hav- 
ing sustained a defeat ; whilst others, who obtained 
the victory, have expired through excess of joy. The 
prizes awarded to the victors were, in themselves, of 
no value, consisting only of a palm branch, presented 
to them by the president of the assembly, or a wreath 
of laurel, parsley, or pine-leaves. These could have no 
influence on the ambition, and much less on the ava- 
rice, of the contending champions. But this spirit of 
rivalry will be sufficiently accounted for by recollecting, 
that those who triumphed in any of the public games, 
but especially in the Olympian, were honoured and al- 
most adored throughout the whole of Greece. They 
returned in a triumphal car to their native cities, part 
of whose wallswere broken down to give them entrance. 
They were placed on a level with princes in all public 
assemblies. Their relatives participated in their hon- 
ours, and even the cities that gave them birth, were 
supposed to be ennobled by them. Solon decreed a 
reward of one hundred drachms to every Athenian who 



^ 



ESSAY XVI. 



PUBLIC 6AMBS. 



103 



obtained the Isthmian prize ; and five hundred for the 
Olympian, besides his future maintenance at the pub- 
lic expense. 

So great respect was paid to these public festivals by 
all the states of Greece, that, from the time of assem- 
bling, an armistice was proclaimed by those who were 
at war ; and it was considered sacrilegious to attack 
an adversary either in going to or returning from them. 
As multitudes resorted to them from all parts, they sup- 
plied in a great measure, the want of a common capi- 
tal for the Greek nation. Whatever was of general 
interest was proclaimed by heralds at these assemblies. 
Treaties between the several states were promulgated 
here, and, not unfrequently, columns were erected in 
these places, at the joint expense of the contracting 
parties, with the articles of the treaty engraven upon 
them. It cannot be doubted, that these institutions 
contributed greatly towards the advancement of the 
arts, commerce, science, civilization, and military 
gloiy, amongst all the inhabitants of Greece. 

After the Olympic games became celebrated, the 
time of their observance was an epoch, by which the 
Grecian chronology was arranged. The time in which 
any character lived, or in which any event took place, 
was reckoned by the number of Olympiads that had pre- 
ceded. It is, therefore, necessary to bear in mind, that 
an Olympiad was a revolution of four complete years, 
and that they began to be used for the computation of 
time 776 years before the Christian aera, though the 
Olympic games had been instituted long before that 
period. 



104 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



REFLECTIONS. 

It is truly astonishing that it should have ever en- 
tered into the mind of man to conceive that, with such 
polluted sacrifices God v^ould be well pleased. How 
grovelling must have been their conceptions of the 
Deity, who imagined that he would view with compla- 
cency such profane rites — who numbered these festive 
scenes amongst their religious solemnities — who fan- 
cied that their gods looked down with delight on these 
brutal and sanguinary sports, were amused with these 
frivolous trifles, or attracted by the rude clamours of a 
noisy multitude. A more melancholy, or more con- 
vincing, proof could scarcely be adduced, that the 
world by wisdom knew not God.'* 

But, apart from religious considerations, these pub- 
lic festivals were innocent and virtuous, compared with 
scenes of modern dissipation. It is true, they inspired 
a false ambition — an ambition worthy of a better cause; 
they incited to an ardent chase of visionary glory and 
unreal happiness ; they cherished sentiments of pride 
and vanity in the candidates for human applause ; but 
it does not appear that those public amusements were 
disgraced by the sordid avarice, the degrading pas- 
sions, or the infernal arts, which prevail in this boasted 
age of refinement amongst the illustrious advocates of 
pugilism. The most ardent spectators of the Olympic 
or Pythian course, had no conception of the exquisite 
gratification, which many men of birth and fortune 
now profess to find, in staking all their ample posses- 
sions upon the speed of a horse ; and thus reducing 
themselves and their families to disgraceful penury! 

These public exercises are, however, chiefly de- 



ESSAY XVI. 



PUBLIC GAMES. 



105 



serving of notice by Christians, on account of the fre- 
quent allusions niade to them in the New Testament, 
and especially in the writings of the apostle Paul. 
He has made use of them, to illustrate the labours and 
honours of the Christian life. On one occasion, he 
compares the disciples of Christ to champions, who 
** wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against 
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of 
the darkness of this world, against spiritual wicked- 
ness in high places." In another place, his imagina- 
tion seems to have caught a distinct view of these exhi- 
bitions ; every circumstance of which, he was taught, by 
the unerring spirit of wisdom, to apply to purposes of 
Christian instruction. The present state of being he 
considers as a race set before the Christian; eternal life 
is the prize for which he contends ; myriads of angels- — 
the spirits of just men made perfect — Jesus, the media- 
tor of the New Covenant — and God the judge of all, 
are the spectators of his course ! Fired by the sublime 
scene which presented itself to his imagination, and 
glowing with sacred ambition, the apostle labours to 
communicate similar feelings to the companions of his 
course: ** Seeing," he exclaims, " we also are com- 
passed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let 
us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so 
easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race 
that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author 
and finisher of our faith." Alluding, on another oc- 
casion, to these festivals, in which the victors obtained 
nothing but empty honours and a fading crown, he 
writes, Bodily exercise profiteth little ; but godli- 
ness is profitable unto all things, having promise of 
the life that now is, and of that which is to come." 



106 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK I. 



And again adverting, in another epistle, to the im- 
possibility of more than one being the successful 
candidate in these contests, he argues from it, the 
necessity of the most strenuous exertion — the most 
ardent and persevering zeal, if they would win the 
prize of their high calling, and possess an incorrupti- 
ble crown : " Know ye not," said he, *' that they 
which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the 
prize ? So run, that ye may obtain." Ephes. vi. 12. 
Heb. xii. 1, 2. 1 Tim. iv. 8. 1 Cor. ix. 24—27. 

Shall it then be said, that they, who contended only 
for the applause of their fellow -mortals, were more 
ardent in their course than Christians, whose ambition 
it is to be approved of God ? Shall they, who strove 
only for a corruptible crown, be more undaunted and 
laborious in their efforts to secure this perishing re- 
ward, than they who contend for an immortal and 
unfading crown, a rich and incorruptible inheritance? 
Shall the presence of a few thousands of beings, frail 
as themselves, who were spectators and witnesses of 
the combat, be enough to excite such unconquerable 
ambition ; and shall not the consciousness of the per- 
petual presence and omniscient eye of the eternal 
Jehovah, be sufficient to fire the breast with a yet 
more invincible courage? Come forward then, ye 
generous youths, who long for distinction, who thirst 
for glory — enter the lists — arm yourselves for the 
combat — boldly challenge all the adversaries of your 
souls — " fight the good fight of faith," and be assured 
ye shall not strive, or run, or labour, in vain; yours 
will be a glorious recompense of reward, ye shall " lay 
hold of eternal life." 



THE HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE PERSIAN, TO THE 
END OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR. 



ESSAY I. 
On the Causes of the Persian War. 

The revolution at Athens, which terminated in the 
expulsion of Hippias and re-establishment of the re- 
public, was quickly followed by a war between the 
Persians and the Greeks. That memorable contest 
forms so conspicuous a figure in ancient history, called 
forth such pre-eminent talents, brought to light such 
illustrious characters, and was fraught with such im- 
portant consequences to both parties, that it is neces- 
sary, before its principal events are narrated, to 
investigate its immediate or remoter causes. A variety 
of circumstances concurred to involve the Grecian 
states in this arduous struggle, which it is the design 
of the present essay briefly to state. 

The primary cause, most undoubtedly, was the in- 
satiable ambition of the Persians. During the splendid 
reign of Cyrus, they had been inured to war, and ac- 



108 



HISTORY OP GREECE. BOOK II. 



customed to victory. The legions of Persia, led on by 
that amiable and successful monarch, had added many 
tributary provinces to the former limits of the empire, 
and enriched its treasury with the spoils of many con- 
quered nations. The successors of Cyrus inherited his 
ambition, his military ardour, his thirst for conquest-— 
but were destitute of his many milder and better 
qualities. Without any regard to justice, or even a 
plausible pretence for war, they invaded and ravaged 
any country that presented temptations to their avarice, 
or obstructed the course of their wild ambition. It 
was enough that a neighbouring colony or kingdom 
was wealthy and flourishing, to induce them to turn 
their arms against it, and reduce it to a tributary pro- 
vince. On this account, the Grecian colonies in Asia 
Minor, known by the common name of lonians, 
tempted the cupidity of Darius. From their maritime 
situation, the fertility of their soil, and the extent of 
their commerce, these settlements had become both 
populous and wealthy ; and from the smallest begin- 
nings had quickly attained to a high degree of pros- 
perity. The king of Persia resolved to make them his 
prey, and, after a feeble resistance, they Were succes- 
sively compelled to submit to the yoke of foreign 
despotism. But the conquest of these Asiatic colo- 
nies was far from satisfying the inordinate ambition 
of Persia. No less an object was proposed, by her 
haughty monarch, than the subjugation of the parent 
states, till all the republics of Greece should be con- 
solidated with his vast empire. 

A second cause of the war between the Persians and 
Greeks, was, the revolt of the Ionian colonies. This 
took place about 502 years before Christ. It was ex- 



ESSAY I. ORIGIN OF THE PERSIAN WAR. 



109 



cited by the secret artifices of Hist8eus,king of Miletus, 
aided by the bold and apparently disinterested zeal of 
Aristagoras, his nephew; though the result proved, 
that both of these ring-leaders of the rebellion, were 
actuated by the most base and selfish motives. Arista- 
goras, however, knew how to work upon the passions 
of a people, to whom the sound of liberty was ever 
enchanting. He harangued them in public upon the 
ease with which they might throw off the yoke of an 
oppressive tyrant, and successfully resist an effeminate 
and luxurious people, whom they had so tamely suf- 
fered to enslave them. He unfurled the standard of 
liberty, and invited the Ionian youths to rally round 
it. He abolished in every city the authority of kings, 
and openly proclaimed the Grecian cities of Asia 
Minor independent. 

Notwithstanding the eagerness of the colonists to 
flock around the standard of Aristagoras, they did not 
deem it prudent to encounter the military strength of 
Persia without foreign assistance. They, therefore, 
appointed their leader ambassador to Lacedaemon and 
Athens, with instructions to claim their succour with 
the most earnest entreaties. Aristagoras first applied 
to the Spartans, without meeting with success. That 
sober-minded people heard, with the coldest indif- 
ference, all his arguments, but refused to interfere in 
the quarrel. He next repaired to Athens, and arrived 
there at a juncture most favourable to the object of 
his embassy. For the people of Athens were, at that 
moment, wrought up to the highest pitch of indignation 
and resentment against Persia, by a circumstance which 
must be considered the more immediate cause of the war. 
Hippias, the dethroned sovereign of Athens, after 



110 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK tl. 



having made many fruitless attempts to induce the 
other Grecian states to espouse his cause, sought the 
protection of Artaphernes, who was viceroy of Sardis, 
under Darius. That haughty satrap eagerly seized 
the opportunity of dictating to the stern republicans. 
He imperiously demanded of the Athenians to reinstate 
their expelled monarch in the throne of his father, 
accompanied with a threat of his sovereign's vengeance, 
if they refused to comply with his demand. This 
haughty message had just been heard, and indignantly 
rejected by a general assembly of the people, when 
Aristagoras arrived at Athens. The irritated feelings 
of the people pleaded his cause more powerfully than 
all the representations of the ambassador. An expe- 
dition was despatched to Ionia without delay, which, 
having joined their Asiatic brethren at Miletus, pro- 
ceeded to the invasion of Lydia, one of the provinces 
of Persia; in which they were so successful as to pene- 
trate to its capital, reduce it to ashes, and besiege 
Artaphernes, its governor, in the citadel of Sardis. 
This, however, was the termination of their successes. 
The Grecian colonists were, shortly after, obliged to 
retreat with considerable loss, before a powerful army 
of Persians, who pursued them to their own borders, 
besieged, and took their most flourishing cities, and, 
finally, compelled them to seek peace, by uncondi- 
tional submission to the conqueror. But the haughty 
monarch of Persia, was far from being satisfied with 
subjugating the rebellious colonists. Enraged at the 
hardihood of a few Athenians, in ravaging one of the 
wealthiest provinces of his vast empire, he formed a 
deep and settled purpose of revenge, that could be 
satisfied with nothing short of the entire destruction 



ESSAY I. ORIGIN OP THE PERSIAN WAR. Ill 



of its object. He resolved on embracing the first op- 
portunity of blotting out the Athenian name, and anni- 
hilating its flourishing capital. Lest he should be 
induced to swerve from this purpose, by the luxuries 
of an eastern court, he commanded one of his do- 
mestics, whenever he sat down to meat, to remind him 
of the insolence of the Athenians. 

Herodot. lib. 5 et 6. 



REFLECTIONS. 

The same causes will ever be found to produce the 
same effects. In stating, therefore, the general causes 
of the memorable struggle between Greece and Persia, 
those that have operated in every age to produce 
fierce contentions, between individuals or nations, 
have been stated. A thousand apparently incidental 
circumstances may arise, to furnish an occasion or 
pretext for war, and to kindle the passions of mankind 
into a flame ; but the more diligently the latent causes 
of this desolating calamity are investigated, the more 
evident will it be, that they uniformly originate in an 
insatiable ambition^ and a malignant spirit of revenge. 
The simple process, when viewed apart from subordi- 
nate circumstances, will be found to be the following : 
a worm of the earth, elevated somewhat above his 
fellow-worms, makes use of that pre-eminence to 
tyrannize over his inferiors, to deprive them of their 
natural, civil, or social rights, and then to oppress 
them. This leads to a powerful re-action. Impatient 
of restraint, indignant at the yoke so unjustly imposed, 
and burning with revenge, the injured party watch 



112 HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK 11. 



for a favourable moment in which to break asunder 
their chains; nor are they satisfied with this, but 
usually proceed to avenge themselves on their oppres- 
sors, instead of regarding his imperial mandate, 
who hath said, "Vengeance is mine, I will recom- 
pense, saith the Lord." These efforts, on the one 
part, to shake off the yoke of despotism, and chastise 
the insolence of power, lead to a yet more dark and 
settled purpose of revenge on the other — a purpose 
upheld by all the energies of mortified pride and gra- 
tified ambition. In this irritated state of mutual feel- 
ing? no powerful impulse is necessary to put in motion 
the destructive engine of war — in this high degree of 
fermentation, the slightest circumstance is sufficient 
to produce a dreadful explosion. From this state- 
ment, it is evident, that the happy period predicted in 
ancient prophecy, when " wars shall cease to the ends 
of the earth,'* is not to be expected, till the prevailing 
influence of genuine piety shall have quelled those 
passions, and finally subdued those lusts, whence 
strifes and contentions proceed — till the unhallowed 
fires of revenge and hatred shall be for ever extin- 
guished. Then, and not till then, will the *'bow be 
broken, the spear cut in sunder, and the chariot 
burned in the fire," and all the families of the earth 
will live in " unity, peace, and concord." 

There is, however, a species of ambition that may 
be safely indulged, and cannot be excessive. The de- 
sire of pleasing God, of excelling in knowledge and 
spiritual understanding, of growing in grace, of ob- 
taining fresh victories over sin, of increasing our 
treasures of piety and holiness — this desire cannot be 
too strong. It is an ambition which, far from being 



ESSAY I. ORIGIN OF THE PERSIAN WAR. 



11'3 



forbidden, is expressly commanded of God ; instead of 
injuring, it is highly beneficial to mankind ; it dignifies 
and ennobles the character who possesses it. Cherish 
then, ye candidates for fame, who are emulous of 
honour and distinction amongst men, cherish this 
sacred passion ! If ye desire to excel, let it not be by 
scattering abroad " firebrands, arrows and death," — 
if ye would rise, let it not be upon the ruins of human 
happiness ! Leave to the despicable " potsherds of 
the earth," (for so the sons of the mighty are desig- 
nated in Scripture,) the unworthy task of enlarging 
their borders by violence and oppression— of enriching 
themselves by extortion and rapine. Be it your am- 
bition to prove yourselves the benefactors of mankind ; 
to diffuse, as far as your influence extends, peace and 
happiness, by promoting knowledge and piety. Thus, 
in blessing others, you will yourselves be blessed; your 
memories will be sacred ; you will live in the records 
of eternal ages, when the names of sanguinary con- 
querors will be buried in everlasting oblivion I 



ESSAY II. 
The Battle of Marathon. 
A. C. 490. 

The design of Darius to invade Greece, and avenge 
himself on the Athenians, was not long delayed. Early 
in the following spring an armament, which was 
deemed amply sufficient to execute the design, was 
prepared, and placed under the command of Mardo- 
nius, a noble Persian youth, who had lately married 
a daughter of Darius. His elevated rank was, indeed, 

I 



114 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



his only recommendation, for, in every other respect, 
he seems to have been wholly unqualified for the ardu- 
ous task assigned him. Confident of success, though 
destitute both of military science and experience, he 
embarked in an expedition, which proved, as might 
have been expected, disgraceful to himself, and ruin- 
ous to his army. Through an inexcusable ignorance 
of the track he was to pursue, his fleet was driven 
amongst the rocks, near the promontory of Mount 
Athos on the Macedonian coast, and three hundred 
vessels were dashed in pieces. This severe loss, toge- 
ther with other diflBculties, which his rash and im- 
petuous disposition did not permit him to foresee, so 
diminished his forces, and destroyed his hopes, that 
he did not consider himself equal to contend with a 
few Grecian ships, and a small number of troops that 
were preparing to attack the scattered remains of his 
fleet and army. Baffled, defeated, and disgraced, he 
returned to Asia, without having taken a step toward 
the execution of the design intrusted to him. On his 
arrival at the court of Persia, he gave such a flattering 
statement of the perilous difficulties he had met with — 
the formidable adversaries opposed to him — and the 
determined bravery with which he had encountered 
them, as to impose upon Darius, and shelter himself 
from merited infamy. 

The failure of this expedition heightened the resent- 
ment of the king of Persia against the Greeks. In the 
following year, a still more formidable expedition was 
fitted out, and placed under the conduct of Datis and 
Artaphernes, both of whom were experienced com- 
manders. It consisted, (according to the concurring 
testimony of several ancient historians,) of five hundred 



ESSAY II. 



BATTLE OF MARATHON, 



115 



thousand men, selected from his numerous provincial 
troops. Besides this powerful army, the maritime 
countries tributary to Persia were required to furnish 
a fleet of six hundred sail. The instructions received 
by the Persian generals were, to subdue and bring 
under tribute the whole of Greece, but especially to 
take signal vengeance on the Athenians and Eretrians, 
who had been concerned in the revolt of the Ionian 
colonies ; to lay waste their country, to demolish their 
temples and houses, and to carry their persons into 
captivity to the remotest part of the empire. Several 
islands were taken by this formidable armament during 
its prosperous voyage, and at length the whole expe- 
dition disembarked on the plains of Marathon in At- 
tica — about thirty miles from its capital-— a spot which 
had been previously fixed upon by Hippias, who accom- 
panied them, as he fondly imagined, to certain victory. 

In the mean time, the Athenians were not inactive. 
They applied to the Lacedaemonians for assistance, 
who immediately perceived that the danger was com- 
mon, and therefore called for united and prompt 
relief. Forgetting their former jealousies, they pro- 
mised, with the utmost readiness, all their military 
strength to defend the liberties of Greece ; but at the 
same time informed the Athenian ambassadors, that 
an established and ancient custom of their country 
would prevent their troops from marching till the full 
of the moon, which was yet five days distant. No 
time was to be lost. Desperate as it appeared, the 
Athenians had no alternative, but to meet the over- 
whelming forces of Persia, without any foreign aid, 
except that of their faithful allies, the Plataeans, who 
sent one thousand warriors to share with nine thousand 



116 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



Athenians, in the labours and honours of the perilous 
contest. The number of armed slaves that were pro- 
bably added to these ten thousand freemen, is not 
known . Ten generals were elected from amongst their 
most distinguished officers, each of whom in rotation 
was to command the whole army for a day. Amongst 
these were Miltiades, Themistocles, and Aristides, 
names most familiar to the ear of every one who is 
conversant with Grecian history. Contrary to the 
ordinary feelings and practice of men intrusted with 
power, and that narrow spirit of rivalry that is too 
commonly seen in such characters, these joint com- 
manders acted together with the utmost harmony and 
confidence, *'in honour preferring one another." The 
genius of Miltiades was well known to them. His 
great military talents had been put to the test in 
former years, when he was the governor of a Greek 
colony, settled at Cardia in Thrace, and proved most 
successful. A common sense of danger, as well as 
the true spirit of patriotism, induced the other nine 
commanders to give up their several days of authority 
to Miltiades, as the more experienced general, and 
sacrifice their private ambition for the general good. 
To the honour of Aristides, it should be recorded, that 
he set the example in this act of disinterested patriotism. 

Miltiades knew the character of the enemy, and their 
peculiar mode of warfare. He knew also the invincible 
bravery of the army under his command, and resolved, 
notwithstanding the great disparity of numbers, to 
risk a battle, on which were suspended the liberties 
of Greece. Though the native historians of Greece, 
who were familiar with the spot, on which this great 
battle was fought, and wrote for the instruction of 



ESSAY II. 



BATTLE OF MARATHON. 



117 



the immediate descendants of those who conquered or 
expired on the plains of Marathon, might deem it 
necessary to enter into minute detail; to describe with 
topographical accuracy the exact situation of both 
armies, their various evolutions, with their modes of 
attack and defence ; and to calculate the numbers 
killed or wounded on that memorable day — it cannot 
be deemed necessary to imitate the example of many 
modern historians, in collecting from these ancient 
records the sad recital, and dwelling upon it with 
melancholy pleasure. However sacred the cause in 
which this select band of patriots had embarked, 
and however laudable their efforts to defend their 
threatened liberties and lives, Christianity forbids us 
to exhibit such scenes of carnage and desolation in a 
prominent, and much less in a winning form. Suffice 
it to say, in brief, that the contest was long and san- 
guinary ; the bravery of the Athenians and Platseans 
unparalleled ; and their ultimate victory decisive and 
complete. The Persian army fled to their ships with 
precipitation, leaving their camp, with all its rich 
stores, to the conquerors. The immense spoil found 
there was intrusted to Aristides, who had already 
acquired a high reputation for integrity, and who 
faithfully discharged the trust. In this battle, the 
banished tyrant of Athens was slain, who had been 
the principal instigator of the war. The Lacedaemo- 
nian auxiliaries arrived on the following day, and, 
though mortified that they had no share in the honours 
of the day, pronounced the highest eulogium on the 
valour and patriotism of the Athenians. 

In proportion as the citizens of Athens had been 
wrought up to the highest pitch of anxious expecta- 



118 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



tion, their joy was extreme when the gi-ateful intel- 
ligence of victory reached them. It was brought by 
a private soldier, who ran from the heat of the battle, 
covered with dust and blood, without stopping to take 
either food or rest, till he arrived at the senate-house. 
Exhausted by the incredible efforts he made, he could 
only exclaim, "Rejoice, we triumph," and instantly 
expired. His funeral obsequies, together with those 
of the warriors who fell on the plains of Marathon, 
were celebrated with great pomp ; and the victors, 
having seen the shattered remains of the Persian army, 
set sail for Asia, returned to Athens in triumph, 
where the embraces and plaudits of their fellow- 
citizens awaited them. 

The particulars of these expeditions, under Mardoirius andDatis, 
may be collected from Herodot. lib. 6. Thucyd. lib. 6. Plut. in Vit. 
Aristid. Corn. Nep. in Vit. Milt. Justin. Hist. lib. 2, S^c. 8fC. 



REFLECTIONS. 

The expedition of Mardonius, undertaken so con- 
fidently, conducted so rashly, and terminating so in- 
gloriously, furnishes a most instructive moral lesson to 
inexperienced youth. It proclaims, "Be not high- 
minded, but fear." It teaches the youthful voyager, 
not to deceive himself with flattering expectations of 
an unruffled sea, or to calculate on a favourable breeze 
to waft him safely and prosperously along ; but rather 
to prepare for storms, by which his slender bark may, 
perhaps, be driven amongst rocks and quick-sands, 
and both himself and all his treasures exposed to 
imminent danger. It warns him not to enter upon 
this perilous voyage with a presumptuous mind. 



ESSAY 11. 



BATTLE OP MARATHON. 



119 



proudly relying on his own resources of wisdom or 
strength ; for it is most certain, that such "pride leads 
to destruction— -such a haughty spirit precedes a fall !" 

How many have thus made shipwreck of faith and 
of a good conscience ! Betrayed by a vain security, and 
the spirit of self-confidence, into unforeseen dangers, 
how many have terminated their course in ignominy 
and ruin! Let those who have this voyage, or at least 
the greater part of it, yet before them, contemplate, 
with fear and trembling, the memorials of their fall ; 
let them shun, with holy caution, the dangerous track 
in which they foundered ; or, if duty calls them to 
encounter those dangers, let them seek that wisdom 
from above, which, like a skilful pilot, can steer them 
in perfect safety by those perilous shoals and rocks, 
amongst which others have been dashed in pieces, or 
drowned in perdition. 

The circumstances and issue of the battle of Mara- 
thon, forcibly remind us of that scriptural truth, ** the 
race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the 
strong." Events cannot be determined by outward 
appearances or probabilities. Who that had seen the 
little band of Greeks, drawn up in battle array against 
the numerous legions of Persia, if he judged by ordi- 
nary rules, would not have confidently anticipated the 
annihilation of the Grecian army ? However brave, 
however desperate it might be, it could scarcely be 
considered as any other than the "forlorn hope" of 
Greece. But the result, which has been stated, 
proved that a mere handful of freemen is more than 
equal to many myriads of slaves ; and that, if liberty 
smile upon a country, it transforms every individual of 
that country into an invincible hero ; whilst the absence 



120 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



of this blessing is of itself sufficient to unnerve the arm 
— to depress the mind — " to make cowards of us all." 

Yet let not the bravery of men alone be celebrated 
in bringing about the triumphs of liberty on that 
memorable day. The wonder-working hand of God 
was displayed, though, to both the contending powers, 
he was still the unknown God.''' Neither they, nor 
their idolatrous descendants, regarded these astonish- 
ing events, as the work of Jehovah, or the opera- 
tion of his hands.*' It is true, the Athenians did, in 
honour of this splendid victory, offer sacrifices and 
libations to their idol gods — in doing which they pro- 
fessed to acknowledge the interposition of the Deity, 
whom they ignorantly worshipped — but the manner in 
which it is celebrated by the poets and historians of 
that age, the sentiments of proud self-confidence they 
utter, and the merit they ascribe to the creature 
rather than to the Divine Creator, sufficiently prove, 
that " God was not in all their thoughts." Suc- 
ceeding ages have, however, in some degree, developed 
the designs of the over-ruling providence of God, in 
permitting these and similar events. This was the first 
step to the overthrow of the Persian empire ; an event 
clearly foretold in the book of the prophets. By the pre- 
servation of the liberties of Greece, a way was prepared 
for the future entrance and rapid diffusion of Christian 
knowledge, through almost all the cities and provinces 
of European and Asiatic Greece. 

Thus it is, that while men pursue, with private 
views, their subordinate schemes, *' He that sittethin 
the heavens" executes his sovereign purposes, and 
works, with irresistible energy, the counsels of his own 
will, amongst the inhabitants of the earth. 



ESSAY HI. 



MILTIADES. 



121 



ESSAY III. 
The Death of Miltiades. 
A. C. 489. 

The victory obtained at Marathon fired the ambition 
of the Athenians, and incited them to aim at new con- 
quests. Having no longer to struggle in defence of 
their own liberties, they meditated an attack upon the 
liberties of others. Though their fleet was as yet in- 
considerable, they determined on a naval expedition ; 
the first object of which should be, to seize and plunder 
the islands of the iEgean sea, that had taken part with 
Persia in her late invasion of Greece. Some of these 
islands had affbrded supplies to the Persian fleet, and 
others had received garrisons of Persian soldiers; 
whom, therefore, it was resolved to chastise with seve- 
rity. It was natural that the conqueror at Marathon 
should be placed at the head of this expedition^ who 
had so recently saved his country * a om desolation — who 
had displayed such consummate skill and military 
prowess in that celebrated engagement — and who had 
acquired such reputation throughout the whole of 
Greece, as to be esteemed its first warrior. He obeyed 
the call of his country, which summoned him to a 
much more unworthy task than before, in which he 
was no longer to fight for the liberties and lives of his 
fellow-citizens, but from motives of revenge and for 
purposes of plunder. Seventy galleys, laden with 
troops and military stores, were intrusted to him, 
which was, probably, the entire naval strength of the 
republic at that time. The first operations of this ar- 



122 



HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK II. 



mament were successful . Several islands of the iEgean 
sea were captured, and much spoil was collected. But 
the tide of prosperity soon turned ; Miltiades laid siege 
to the capital of Paros, in the expectation of its imme- 
diate surrender ; but found it well defended, and the 
inhabitants resolved to resist their formidable invaders 
to the utmost. In an unsuccessful attempt to storm the 
citadel, Miltiades received a wound, which ultimately 
proved mortal. After having lost much time in fruit- 
less efforts, Miltiades returned to Athens, not as afore- 
time, triumphantly victorious, but with diminished 
forces, and in a languishing condition. Want of suc- 
cess was of itself sufficient to obliterate, from the minds 
of the fickle Athenians, all remembrance of his former 
services. Their most sanguine hopes had been disap- 
pointed ; their military pride was mortified ; their 
avarice unsated : these circumstances were enough to 
turn their love to hatred — ^their admiration to con- 
tempt. The late idol of the people was now coldly re- 
ceived ; a party was quickly formed against him ; some 
whispered that he was a traitor to his country ; others 
accused him more openly of cowardice ; many de- 
manded that he should be brought to a trial, for the 
failure of the expedition to Paros. 

At length a general assembly of the people was sum- 
moned for that purpose. Xanthippus, the father of 
Pericles, a man of considerable influence in Athens, 
came forward as the accuser of Miltiades. According 
to some, the accusation contained a charge of pecula- 
tion, and of having received a bribe, both of which 
were capital crimes ; according to others, Xanthippus 
did not proceed farther than to accuse him of miscon- 
duct, and of having misapplied the force intrusted to 



ESSAY III. 



MILTIADES. 



123 



him. Unable to plead for himself, his friends advo- 
cated his cause with much ability. They recalled to 
the memory of his ungrateful countrymen, the victories 
of Marathon and Lemnos. They reminded the Athe- 
nians, that to him, v^rhom they now falsely accused, 
they were indebted for the privilege they then enjoyed, 
of assembling to deliberate on his innocence or guilt. 

The able defence, pronounced by the friends of Mil- 
tiades, prevailed so far as to obtain his acquittal of a 
capital offence, but could not effectually shield him 
from the violence of his adversaries. He was sentenced 
to pay a fine of fifty talents, which amounted nearly to 
ten thousand pounds sterling, or to lie in prison till 
such payment should be made. The adverse party well 
knew his utter inability to answer such a demand ; 
they were not ignorant of his emaciated and languish- 
ing condition ; and calculated that the rigours of im- 
prisonment would soon deliver them from a man, whose 
popularity they envied, and whose resentment they 
dreaded. So blinded were his accusers and judges by 
their passions — so utterly destitute of the common 
feelings of humanity, as to remove the unhappy Milti- 
ades, in almost dying circumstances, from his own ha- 
bitation to the barathron, or common dungeon. Ac- 
cording to their hopes, death quickly ensued, and re- 
leased the much-injured sufferer at once from his bodily 
pains, and the ingratitude of his fellow-citizens. His 
son, Cimon, who afterwards became a distinguished 
character in the republic, with great difficulty succeed- 
ed in ransoming his dead body, by paying the fine which 
had been imposed : thus furnishing a pleasing exam- 
ple of filial piety and affection, which forms a pleasing 
contrast to the unnatural cruelty of the Athenians. 



124 



HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK 11. 



A moment's reflection on the predominant leharacter 
of the Athenians, will diminish, if not entirely remove, 
the surprise which their ungrateful conduct is calcu- 
lated to excite. From the days of Pisistratus, a jea- 
lousy of superior talents, and suspicion of popular cha- 
racters, seem to have possessed them. No sooner did 
an individual, either by his eloquence or address, his 
talents or learning, his civil or military services, reach 
the pinnacle of fame, than a party stood prepared to 
precipitate him into disgrace and ruin. A continual 
apprehension of the re-establishment of the tyranny, in- 
duced them constantly to aim at casting down the idols 
of the people, as soon as they were set up ; whilst, by 
a strange perversion of character, they, who succeeded 
in effecting the downfall of others, were the first to 
elevate themselves upon their ruins. 

No people, however, were more ready to acknow- 
ledge their error, as soon as discovered, than the 
Athenians. When their passions cooled, when party 
prejudices subsided, they were deeply sensible of in- 
justice to their benefactor and deliverer. The only re- 
paration they could then make, was, to do honour to 
his memory, by monuments and paintings descriptive 
of his triumph over Persia, exhibited in the most pub- 
lic places of resort ; and still more by the confidence 
they afterwards reposed in the talents and virtues of 
Cimon, to whom the administration of the republic 
was committed in most eventful times. 



Herodot. lib. 6. Corn. Nep. in Vit. Miltiad. et Cimon. 



ESSAY III. 



MILTIADES. 



125 



REFLECTIONS. 

So does an ungrateful world frequently recompense 
those who have been most zealous in her service t 
After they have expended their strength, hazarded 
their lives, and shed their blood in her cause ; often 
does she desert them at their utmost need, and consign 
them to utter ruin. While her votaries are yet in the 
bloom or vigour of youth ; while their circumstances 
are prosperous and their days spent in honour — she 
smiles, and flatters, and caresses, and promises liber- 
ally to reward them. But let a reverse of circum- 
stances take place—let the decrepitude of age, or the 
languor of disease succeed to those blooming and 
vigorous days — let the portentous storm of adversity 
lower, where late the unclouded ray of prosperity 
shone — let honour's darling child fall into disgrace or 
misfortune — and how quickly are her bewitching smiles 
transformed to frowns, her insidious embraces follow- 
ed by a deadly sting ! They, who, at one time, like 
the Grecian chief in the zenith of his fame, have re- 
ceived her warmest plaudits ; at another, like the same 
unhappy character, are plunged by her into the bara- 
thron of calumny, and left to perish there. Who then 
would willingly toil in her service, to receive such a 
wretched reward ? If such be the treatment of her 
most devoted slaves, who would not gladly shake off 
her galling yoke ? How fitly are the ordinary pursuits 
of the present evil world called ** the unfruitful works 
of darkness." With how much truth is it affirmed 
that the wages of sin is death." 

Not such is the service of the Most High God. He 



}26 



HISTORY OP GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



is not thus mutable in his affection, or unfaithful to 
his promises. " Having loved his own, which are in 
the world, he loves them to the end," notwithstanding 
all the varieties of their condition, and the heaviest 
calamities that can befal them. Instead of deserting 
them in their time of need, then he is at their right 
hand to sustain their drooping heads, and to cheer 
their dejected minds. When their " afflictions abound, 
his consolations yet more abound." Who then can re- 
sist the invitations of such a Master, when he calls upon 
them to consecrate their services to him, and requires 
them to bear his easy yoke? Who can refuse to de- 
vote their strength, to hazard their lives, and, if re- 
quired, to shed their blood in his sacred cause ? With 
what truth is it affirmed, that in keeping his com- 
mandments there is a great reward,'* since those, who 
engage in his service, have their fruit unto holiness, 
and the end everlasting life." 

The filial piety of Cimon, in redeeming the remains 
of a beloved parent from an unjust arrest, at the price 
of fifty talents, in order that he might have the melan- 
choly satisfaction of interring them in the sepulchre 
of his ancestors, deserves to be recorded with honour 
to the end of time. It is one of the loveliest features 
of youth, to shew a tender and afiectionate regard to 
the comfort of their parents, while living ; and a re- 
verence for their memory, when departed. None can 
have a stronger claim on the tenderest and warmest 
aff^ections of the heart, (if we except the Universal 
Parent,) than those who have nourished our infancy, 
and were <' the guides of our youth." No temporal 
sacrifices can be too great to purchase the tranquillity 
of their declining years, or to remove the obloquy that 



ESSAY III. 



MILTIADES. 



127 



is unjustly cast upon their posthumous fame. The in- 
stance of filial affection stated in the preceding essay, 
was, indeed, the earliest and fairest omen of Cimon's 
future greatness ; it was one of the first and sweetest 
blossoms of his youth, which gave a pleasing presage 
of those many amiable qualities, which we shall here- 
after have occasion to celebrate. And, in like manner, 
the early development of a similar character affbrds a 
rational hope of future excellence and virtuous dis- 
tinction. 

Let it not be deemed fanciful, or pronounced en- 
thusiastical, if an occasion be taken from the conduct 
of Cimon, in ransoming, at so great a price, a parent's 
body, to bring to the recollection of Christians, the 
infinitely greater love of Jesus, who redeemed our 
souls from destruction. When the debt, which had 
been contracted, was so enormous, that it became ut- 
terly impossible to pay it ourselves, this generous 
friend came forward and gave his life a ransom for 
many — redeemed us " not with corruptible things, 
such as silver and gold,'* but with his own invaluable 
blood. The penalty, justly incurred by us, infinitely 
exceeded all our means of restitution, but the Son of 
God fully satisfied all the claims of a violated law. 
The love of man has never risen higher than to induce 
him to lay down his life for his friends, but " God 
commendeth his love towards us, in that, while we 
were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 



128 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



ESSAY IV. 

The Invasion of Greece by Xerxes. 
A.C. 481. 

It was imagined by many of the Athenians, in com- 
mon with the inhabitants of other states, that after 
two unsuccessful attempts to penetrate into Greece, 
the Persians would finally abandon the design. But 
the penetrating mind of Themistocles could not be 
thus deceived. He was too well acquainted with the 
workings of ambition in the human mind, to believe 
that Darius would be deterred, by the checks he had 
already received, from pursuing his purpose of re- 
venge. He assured the Athenians that the struggle, 
far from being ended, had yet scarcely begun ; and 
that they must expect their adversaries to return to 
the charge with augmented forces and renewed vigour. 
He admonished them to improve the leisure afforded 
by the suspension of hostilities, to prepare a fleet, 
which might enable them to oppose the enemy by sea, 
as successfully as they had already done by land ; or, 
in case of disaster, afford them the means of escape. 
He prevailed upon them to appropriate the revenue 
arising from the silver mines of Mount Laurium to 
this important object, which had hitherto been squan- 
dered in public shows and costly amusements. By 
this means they became possessed of two hundred 
galleys, superior in size and construction to any that 
had been known in Greece, without the smallest 
diminution of the public treasury. 

The predictions of Themistocles were soon verified. 



ESSAY IV, 



XERXEs' INVASION. 



129 



The tidings reached Athens that Darius was levying 
a fresh army, and collecting a much more formidable 
fleet, intending, as soon as he should have reduced 
some rebellious provinces of his empire, to set sail 
for Greece. But in the midst of his preparations and 
projects, the monarchy of Persia wsls assailed and 
vanquished by that all-conquering foe, 

" Pale Death, who with an equal power, 
Strikes at the palace and the cottag-e door*." 

Xerxes, one of the younger sons of Darius, suc- 
ceeded to the crown of Persia, and seems to have 
inherited both his father's soaring ambition and his 
revengeful temper. The first object of that prince, 
on ascending the throne, was, to complete the prepa^ 
rations which had been begun by Darius. The four 
first years of his reign were occupied with the reduc- 
tion of the revolted provinces, and building a fleet 
which consisted of no less than 1200 ships of war, 
and 3000 ships of burthen. The army, which was 
collected from the numerous provinces of the Persian 
empire, and was little better than a mixed multitude 
of undisciplined slaves, is said to have amounted to 
1,700,000 infantry, and 400,000 cavalry. These, 
added to the persons necessary for managing so large 
a fleet, composed an unwieldy mass of more than two 
millions of men, exclusive of the cumbrous retinue of 
an eastern camp. Such, at least, is the estimate of 
the numbers employed in the expedition of Xerxes, 
calculated very circumstantially by Herodotus, who 
lived a few years after. Whether the statement be 

* Pallida Mors fequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas, 
Regumque turre&. Hor. Carm. lib. 1. Ode 4. 

K 



130 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



exaggerated or not, there is no room to doubt that 
the army of Xerxes was by far the most numerous 
that has ever been assembled, whether in ancient or 
modern times. 

When this vast assemblage of armed men, (for 
they deserved not the name of warriors,) arrived at 
Doriscus, a city of Thrace, on the frontiers of Greece, 
the despot who commanded them resolved to gratify 
his vanity by reviewing his unnumbered myriads, in all 
their martial pomp. The dazzling scene inspired him 
with the most confident hopes of universal empire. 
Turning to Demaratus, a banished king of Sparta, he 
scornfully asked, " whether the Greeks would ven- 
ture to take the field against such a prodigious force ?" 
To which the royal exile replied, with dignified firm- 
ness, ** if the whole Grecian army amounted to no 
more than a thousand men, they would not fear to 
encounter all the assembled myriads of -Asia, so long 
as they fought under the banner of Liberty." 

Yet, amidst all the splendour of the spectacle that 
presented itself to the eye of the monarch, he could 
not avoid the reflections and accusations of his own 
conscience. The thought of human frailty, and of 
the transitory nature of that pageant which he had 
contemplated with so much pride — the consideration 
that, in a few years, both himself and every indivi- 
dual of his vast army would be in their graves — the 
involuntary conviction that *' all flesh is grass, and 
all the glory of man but as the flower of the grass" — 
rushed into his mind, and drew tears from the eyes of 
one of the vainest of princes. This transient melan- 
choly, however, was quickly dispelled by the flatteries 
of a crowd of fawning courtiers, who thronged around 



ESSAY IV, 



XERXEs' INVASION. 



131 



him and inflamed his pride with that profound ho- 
mage, and extravagant adulation, w^hich they well 
knew was suited to the taste of the Great Monarch. 

Several instances of the frantic passion and impious 
vanity of this prince are recorded, which almost ex- 
ceed credibility. When, for example, a sudden tem- 
pest destroyed the bridge of boats which had been 
constructed, with much difficulty, for the transporta- 
tion of his land forces across the Hellespont, he was 
so enraged as to cause the directors of that work to be 
beheaded. Not satisfied with this act of barbarity, 
he proceeded^ in the madness of despotism, to order 
his slaves to chastise the Hellespont with three hun- 
dred stripes, and to drop some fetters into it, as an 
emblem of its subjection to him ; accompanied with 
words to this effect : *Mt is thus, thou salt and bitter 
water, that thy sovereign punishes thy unprovoked 
injury, and is resolved to pass over thy treacherous 
stream, in spite of all thy stormy billows." A similar 
instance of impious vanity, displaying itself in impo- 
tent rage against inanimate nature, is recorded by 
Plutarch. When he had determined to cut a navi- 
gable canal through Mount Athos, that he might 
avoid the shoals and rocks which had proved so fatal 
to Mardonius in attempting to double that promon- 
tory, he addressed a letter to that mountain in the 
following terms : " Athos, thou proud and aspiring 
mountain, that liftest up thy head to the heavens, I 
charge thee, be not so audacious as to put rocks and 
stones, which cannot be penetrated, in the way of my 
artificers. If thou dost presume to do this, I will cut 
thee down, and hurl thee headlong into the sea." 
The Grecian republics were not ignorant of the 

K 2 



132 



HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK II. 



danger that threatened them, nor were they backward 
to prepare their utmost means of defence. They as- 
sembled the council of Amphictyons, who summoned 
all the cities and independent states of Greece, to 
enter into a confederacy for the protection of their 
common rights. But of these some had already 
submitted to the heralds, whom Xerxes had sent 
to demand earth and water, as a token of subju- 
gation ; and some were deeply engaged in contests 
with each other. Athens and Lacedaemon were the 
two principal powers that entered into the confede- 
racy, aided by the Thespians and Plataeans. As 
Athens was the chief maritime state, it had been na- 
tural that the command of the fleet should be given 
to one of her citizens, and Themistocles would, by 
common consent, have been chosen to this important 
post. But, in that instance, Themistocles sacrificed 
private ambition to the public good, and declined the 
honour rather than, at such a moment, offend the 
Spartans, who claimed it for Euribiades ; to whom, 
therefore, the Athenian consented to become second 
in command. The Spartans were justly considered 
both the best disciplined and most determined of war- 
riors, and Leonidas was well known as a most skilful 
and brave commander ; it was, therefore, most pro- 
per that the superintendence of the land forces should 
be given to him, nor had the allied powers any reason 
to repent of their choice. Having fixed on their ge- 
nerals, and determined their respective quotas of men 
and ships, it remained only to consult the oracle of 
Apollo, before the combined fleet sailed to Artemi- 
sium, and a strong detachment of the allied army 
marched to occupy the important post of Thermopylag. 
Herodot. lib. 7. Diodor. Sicul. lib. 11, Pint, in Apoph. Lacon. 



ESSAY IV. 



XERXEs' INVASION. 



133 



REFLECTIONS. 

It is a signal mark of divine favour to any coun- 
try, when individuals are raised up, who, by their 
penetration, foresee the dangers to which that country 
will be exposed, and, by their wisdom, are enabled to 
provide means of defence — ^who, in the moment of 
peril, are ready to sacrifice their own ambition to the 
public good ; and, instead of striving with each other 
for the post of honour, are willing to occupy the most 
subordinate stations of usefulness, and even lay down 
their lives in its service — who generously emulate 
each other in humility as well as zeal, " in honour 
preferring one another." Such characters are sure to 
prove the brightest ornaments as well as the most va- 
luable benefactors of their land ; they deserve, and 
are likely to secure, the confidence which is reposed 
in them ; at the approach of danger, they will be re- 
sorted to as the guardians and deliverers of their 
country, when the vain, the ambitious, and the inte- 
rested, are forgotten or despised. Whatever might 
be the character of Themistocles, when more com- 
pletely developed ; at the time to which the present 
essay refers, he was, in these respects, the benefactor 
of Athens. For his penetrating mind discerned the 
impending danger, his profound wisdom directed to 
the most effectual measures of self-defence, and his 
commanding genius eminently qualified him for the 
difficult and perilous times in which he lived. 

On the other hand, scarcely can a character be 
found in all the records of ancient History, who ex- 
cites more strongly the mingled sentiments of pity 
and contempt, than Xerxes in all his glory. Though 



m 



HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK II. 



followed by millions of abject slaves — though swaying 
the sceptre of almost universal dominion — ^though 
commanding all the treasures of the east, how despi- 
cable his character — how deplorable his condition ! 
Elated w^ith self-importance, he fancies himself a god, 
impiously pretends to rule the boisterous deep, and 
proudly demands the homage of universal nature. 
Borne along by the torrent of passion, he dashes with 
foaming but idle rage against the rocks, which ob- 
struct the course of his ambition. Deluded by the 
consummate pride of his own heart, and the adu- 
lation of all around him, he deems himself invin- 
cible, and promises to himself the empire of the world. 
While surveying with ostentatious delight, approach- 
ing almost to rapture, the immense train of his fol- 
lowers, he flatters himself with enchanting visions of 
unlimited power, and of unrivalled splendour ! Poor 
infatuated mortal! amidst all the glare of eastern 
pomp, thou appearest to the eye of Truth more abject 
than the meanest of thy slaves — more deserving of 
compassion than the most wretched inhabitant of thy 
vast empire ! 

The character of Xerxes forms, in many respects, a 
striking contfast to that of our Divine Master. The 
eastern monarch left his imperial city, but it was for 
purposes of vengeance and destruction. The Re- 
deemer of mankind, on the contrary, left the regions 
of perpetual bliss, and laid aside " the glory that he 
had with the Father before the world was," for the 
most benevolent and gracious purposes. The former 
proceeded in magnificence and pomp from province to 
province, followed by millions of wretched slaves, 
who trembled at his frown; the latter came in a 



ESSAY IV. 



XERXEs' INVASION. 



135 



lowly form, the form of a servant; he was despised 
and rejected of men ; but wherever he went he scat- 
tered blessings and diffused happiness amongst his 
attendants, who were few and contemned, both for 
the obscurity of their birth and poverty of their con- 
dition. The sovereign of Persia was wretched amidst 
all his magnificence ; his soul was afflicted at the 
thought, that all the pageantry which surrounded 
him, and on which he depended for his happiness, 
was passing away ; and that both himself and his 
pompous retinue would soon be alike forgotten; 
but Jesus, in the midst of his abasement, re- 
joiced in spirit," for he saw, in boundless perspective, 
the glories and triumphs that awaited him, when he 
should receive the reward of his sufferings. He knew 
that his throne was for ever and ever, and that his 
kingdom must prove an everlasting kingdom. Who 
does not pity the weakness, as well as abhor the pre- 
sumption, of the despicable mortal, whose daring 
impiety aspired to the control of the winds and 
waves, and arrogated a right to claim the subjection 
of all created things ? But in Jesus it was no presump- 
tion to say to the tempestuous ocean, Peace, be still" 
— to its foamy billows, thus far shall ye go, but no 
farther, here shall thy proud waves be stayed ;" for 
'* all things were created by him and for him." All 
nature belongs to his vast empire, all creatures are sub- 
ject to his control. Not only did he command the 
winds and the sea with a voice so majestic and divine, 
as to constrain their prompt obedience ; but since " he 
has ascended up on high, and led captivity captive, all 
things are put in subjection under his feet, whether 
they be things in heaven or on earth, visible or invisi- 



136 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



ble ; whether they be thrones, or dominions, or princi- 
palities, or powers"— and " he must reign till all his 
enemies are made his footstool." 



ESSAY V. 

The Death of Leonidas. 
A. C. 480. 

It is scarcely possible to conceive of a place in 
which a determined stand might be made with more 
effect, by a few troops against an overwhelming army, 
than in the straits of Thermopylae. This celebrated 
defile lay between Thessaly and Phocis ; in one part it 
was exceedingly narrow, whilst in other parts it ex- 
tended itself on either hand, so as to afford a convenient 
and well-fortified encampment to considerable detach- 
ments. On the western side were inaccessible crags 
and tremendous precipices, which extended to Mount 
CEta ; and on the east, there were morasses leading to 
the sea, which no army could penetrate. In this im- 
portant post it was resolved, by a council of the Greeks, 
to station a chosen band of warriors, under the com- 
mand of Leonidas, one of the kings of Lacedaemon. Four 
thousand troops, which consisted chiefly of Peloponne- 
sians, formed the whole detachment to whom the de- 
fence of Thermopylae was committed. Both Leonidas 
and the Spartan youths that followed him were so fully 
convinced that they should never return to their endeared 
connexions, that, previously to their departure, they 
celebrated their own funeral rites in the presence of 
their parents, their wives and their children, and then 



ESSAY V. BATTLE OF THERMOPYLiE. 



137 



bid them an affectionate farewell. A few moments 
were given to the tender sympathies of nature, ere 
they marched with determined step to the patriotic 
altar, and became self-devoted victims. 

Scarcely had they arrived at Thermopyl^, when 
Xerxes and his legions came in sight. The Persian 
despot was not a little surprised to find that the pass 
was occupied, and that a disposition was shewn by his 
adversaries to dispute the passage of his army. For 
he had flattered himself that the tidings of his immense 
preparations would be sufficient to terrify the Greeks 
into submission, and even now he entertained no 
doubt that they would quickly retire in dismay. Curio- 
sity led him to send a Persian horseman to reconnoitre 
the enemy, who was suffered by the Spartans to ap- 
proach so near to their encampment, as to observe the 
martial sports in which some were engaged, and the 
decoration of their persons, which employed the atten- 
tion of others. On receiving information of these cir- 
cumstances, Xerxes expressed his surprise to Dema- 
ratus, the exiled king of Sparta, who has been already 
mentioned ; by whom he was informed, that all these 
employments bespake the resolution of his countrymen 
to defend the pass, or perish in the attempt. 

Still, however, Xerxes could not persuade himself 
that the Greeks would persist in their resolution. 
Several messengers were despatched with threats or 
promises, according to the varying temper of the fickle 
monarch. All the reply the king of Sparta deigned to 
give to those, who, in the name of Xerxes, commanded 
them to lay down their arms, was, Come, and take 
them," and to others, who promised him the dominion 
of Greece, he replied, " the Spartans are accustomed 



138 



HISTORY OF 6REBCB. BOOK II. 



to acquire kingdoms by valour, not by treachery." 
After several days had been thus occupied, Xerxes 
grew impatient, and, indignant that his armed millions 
should be impeded by a few^ hundreds, ordered the 
Medes and Cissians to go and take them alive, and 
bring them into his presence. Confident of success, 
this division of the Persian army rushed forvrard upon 
the Greeks, who presented an impenetrable front of 
pikes, and a close phalanx of shields, on vrhich it w^as 
impossible to make any impression. The attempt w^as 
made, renewed, and repeated ; but, in every instance, 
the invaders were defeated with gTeat loss. At length 
the Medes were put to flight,^ and Xerxes, who had 
been a spectator from his elevated throne of the dread- 
ful conflict, started in wild emotion from his seat, en- 
raged beyond measure, at the disgrace he had sustain- 
ed, rather than grieved at the carnage he had wit- 
nessed. Conceiving, however, when passion subsided, 
that the numbers of the Greeks must have been con- 
siderably diminished, he determined to renew the en- 
gagement on the following day, with the flower of his 
army. This effort was yet more unsuccessful than the 
former, and attended with much heavier loss. Again 
the Persians were compelled to retire to their camps 
with precipitation, leaving the field of battle covered 
with their dead. 

Thus it is probable the expedition of Xerxes would 
Jiave terminated, and the vain-glorious monarch of the 
east had been constrained to abandon the enterprise at 
once, had not treachery, the treachery of an obscure 
individual, accomplished that which the myriads of 
Persia could not effect. Epialtes, a native of those dis- 
tricts, informed Xerxes of a circuitous and almost 



ESSAY V. 



BATTLE OF THERMOPYLAE. 



139 



unfrequented tract over the adjoining mountains, by 
which he might ent^r Greece, and fall upon the rear of 
Leonidas. He undertook to be the guide of twenty 
thousand Persians on the following night. The device 
succeeded ; a small party of Phocians, who had been 
stationed in that pass by Leonidas, as a precautionary 
measure, retired at the enemy's approach, and the 
Persians pursued their march almost without opposi- 
tion. In the mean time, a Greek, who had been con- 
strained to serve in the army of Xerxes, deserted for 
the purpose of conveying information to Leonidas, of 
the treachery of Epialtes, and the consequent move- 
ments of the Persian army. The intelligence sur- 
prised, but did not alarm, the Grecian camp. A coun- 
cil was instantly called, in which it was urged by Leo- 
nidas, that it v/as the duty of the greater part to effect 
their escape out of the defile, before the enemy gained 
their rear, and reserve themselves for future battles ; 
but for himself and his little Spartan band, they were 
resolved never to quit the post of honour and of dan. 
ger in which their country had placed them. This 
council was promptly followed, except that the Thes- 
pians resolved to devote themselves to death, together 
with the Spartans. The rest retreated before the 
Persians descended from the mountains. The minute 
detail would be painful to the feeling mind, of the pro- 
digious efforts made by this remnant of the Grecian 
army, in pursuance of the resolution they had formed^ 
to sell their lives as dearly as possible — the havoc made 
by them in the very midst of the Persian camp, to which 
they penetrated by night — and the dire alarm that 
spread through the assembled myriads it contained. 
Xerxes was one of the first who fled, when Leonidas 



140 



HISTORY OP GREECE. BOOK IT. 



had almost entered the royal tent, not deeming himself 
safe from the Spartan swords, though surrounded by 
SO many legions. In the midst of the tremendous con- 
flict, Leonidas fell beneath a shower of darts ; but that 
event, instead of leading to a cessation of hostilities, 
increased the fury of the combatants, who fought on 
both sides, with the most determined bravery, for the 
body of the mighty hero ; the one to treat it with in- 
dignity, the other to inter it with military honours. 
Four times this band of warriors seized the mangled 
remains of their beloved leader, from the grasp of the 
Persians, and was as often compelled to resign the en- 
deared treasure. At length, however, they succeeded 
in the attempt, and, bearing away in triumph the body 
of Leonidas, they retreated once more to the defile of 
Thermopylas. By this time, the division of the Persian 
army that had been conducted by Epialtes came in 
sight, and it was necessary, exhausted as they were, to 
make the last effort of despair. The remains of Leo- 
nidas were now placed in the midst of their ranks, and 
seemed to re-animate their spirits. Round this en- 
deared spot they once more formed their little phalanx, 
and, after having wrought prodigies of valour, on that 
spot they died. Here were erected soon afterward two 
monuments, one of which informed the traveller, that 
" in that place, a handful of Greeks resisted three mil- 
lions of barbarians the other belonged to the Spar- 
tans, and bore this inscription, composed by Simonides, 
" Tell, O stranger, the inhabitants of Lacedaemon, 
that we died here in obedience to her sacred laws." 
For many years it was the custom of the Spartans to 
pronounce funeral orations, and celebrate public 



ESSAY V. 



DEATH OF LEONIDAS. 



141 



games, in honour of these departed heroes, on the an- 
niversary of this battle. 

Herodot. lib. 7. Diod. Sicul. lib. 11. Pausan. lib. 7. Strab. 
lib. 9. Justin, lib. 2. Plut. in Apophthegm. Lacon. 



REFLECTIONS. 

The annals of antiquity do not record a more memo- 
rable sacrifice than that which was offered at Thermo- 
pylae, upon the altar of patriotism . It is impossible 
to contemplate it, even at so remote a distance, with- 
out feeling a lively interest, approaching to admiration. 
The scene forcibly suggests many valuable lessons of 
instruction. Yet we must be careful that the interest 
we take in the circumstances of the victims, our admi- 
ration of their unrivalled heroism, and our approbation 
of many qualities they exhibited, do not render us in- 
sensible to the false sentiments of honour that impelled 
them, and the anti-christian nature of that contempt 
of death which they manifested. 

Let us not disdain to learn from this Spartan hero, 
that no service is to be declined, however arduous — no 
dangers to be shunned, however formidable — nor any 
sacrifice withheld, however costly, which conscience or 
duty require at our hands. Leonidas considered the 
call of his country the plain and unequivocal voice of 
duty. He did not therefore hesitate ; he conferred 
not with flesh and blood he did not stay to calculate 
the probabilities of success ; he was not dismayed by 
the overwhelming force to which he was opposed. It 
was enough that Sparta required his aid, and that the 
oracle demanded his life, to induce him to yield a 



142 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



prompt and cheerful obedience. The tenderest ties 
were rent asunder ; life with all its comforts and hon- 
ours were relinquished ; danger and death were instantly 
met with open arms. Shall the spirit of patriotism 
do this, and shall not the spirit of Christianity lead to 
yet nobler triumphs ? Shall the call of man be obeyed, 
when he summons to such sacrifices ; and shall the 
voice of Jehovah be unheard, when he requires of us 
" to deny ourselves, and take up our cross, and follow 
him when he demands the resignation of our dearest 
earthly connexions, and even of our lives, for his sake? 
It is obviously the first branch of christian duty, to 
ascertain what is the will of God respecting us, 
whether by the dictates of conscience, or by the pre- 
cepts of revelation — and then to press forward in the 
path of duty, regardless of consequences. It is no 
part of our business to calculate what inconveniences 
will arise, or what probable dangers will follow. 
Though millions set themselves in battle array — 
though sufferings and death in their most terrific forms 
await us — it is still our duty to go forward, with a 
firm and undaunted step. 

Leonidas was taught, by fatal experience, that one 
false friend is more to be dreaded than millions of open 
enemies. Xerxes, with all his veteran legions, he could 
withstand, and even make the tyrant tremble in the 
midst of his camp : but Epialtes, an obscure Greek, 
whom, had the king of Sparta previously known, he 
would have embraced as a friend, a brother — the 
traitorous Epialtes effected his ruin. So has the 
treacherous friendship of the world, and even one 
insidious smile of prosperity, proved fatal to the cha- 
racter who stood, unmoved, the rudest shock of adver- 



ESSAY V. DEATH OF LEONIDAS. 



143 



sity, and upon whom accumulated calamities had no 
other effect than to strengthen his resolution in virtue. 
So has the Christian warrior, after having endured a 
great fight of affliction," been surprised and van- 
quished by some concealed foe ; a temptation, which 
at first wore the disguise of innocence and friendship. 
Let then unguarded youth beware, not only of the 
open profligate, the bold blasphemer, and the unblush- 
ing infidel ; but, still more, let them beware of the 
indirect influence of a worldly spirit, and the seduc- 
tions of what are frequently considered harmless 
pleasures, for these are " dangerous snares to souls." 

The preceding facts prove that natural courage will 
enable persons to despise death, and to meet it with 
sullen indifference ; but never yet did the unassisted 
efforts of nature enable any to triumph over the last 
enemy. What was that contempt of death which 
the Spartan chief and his companions evinced, and 
which has been so frequently extolled by Christian 
writers, but the last struggle of unsubdued pride — a 
security arising from self-delusion — ^the desperate 
plunge of blindfolded mortals into a fathomless gulf? 
How melancholy is the reflection that these and thou- 
sands of similar heroes, who have met death (as it 
is usually termed) with fortitude, were impelled by 
no higher consideration than the expectation of 
posthumous fame ; not a moment was given to the 
penitent recollection of former sins ; not an inquiry 
urged into their condition as moral and accountable 
beings; not even a transient glance taken of the 
boundless prospect that lay before them ; all was ab- 
sorbed in the visionary, the absurd hope of eternal 
celebrity in this transitory world. How unlike are 



144 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



these sentiments, (sentiments which, unhappily, are 
by no means confined to the heathen world,) to the 
calm and well-founded confidence — the rational and 
scriptural hope — ^the joyful anticipations of the dying 
Christian ! Instead of rushing forward, with perilous 
adventure, to the dread tribunal, he meekly waits 
the signal for dismission, tranquilly resigns his de- 
parting spirit into the hands of Jesus, and then ex- 
pires in assured hope of a joyful resurrection. 



ESSAY VI. 
Athens burnt by Xerxes. 
A.C. 480. 

No sooner had Xerxes forced the pass of Thermo- 
pylae, though with the loss of upwards of twenty thou- 
sand of his best troops, than he ravaged the territories 
of the Phocians with fire and sword, plundered their 
cities, and destroyed, with relentless fury, multitudes 
of the unoffending and defenceless inhabitants. The 
Grecian army, consisting chiefly of Peloponnesians, 
withdrew to the isthmus of Corinth, where alone they 
hoped to be able to make an effectual stand. The- 
mistocles and the Athenians remonstrated warmly, 
and not without reason, against this measure, by which 
Attica was left open to the fury of their inveterate 
adversary. Their remonstrances, however, were vain. 
Deserted by their allies, and left to their own resources, 
they could now only look for safety to the powerful 
fleet, which the foresight of Themistocles had provided. 
A considerable check had been given already to the 



ESSAY VI. ATHENS BURNT BY XERXES. 145 

maritime progress of the Persians at Artemisium, al- 
most at the same moment in which the battle of Ther- 
mopylas was fought ; partly by a storm which destroyed 
four hundred galleys, and partly by several unsuc- 
cessful engagements with the combined fleet of the 
Grecians. Since it was no longer possible to defend 
themselves by land, Themistocles and the Athenians 
now placed all their hopes on their naval superiority 
to the enemy. He undertook the difficult task of per- 
suading the citizens of Athens to abandon their city, 
which, he said, " it was evident the vengeance of 
heaven had destined to destruction " — to transport 
their wives and children to some adjacent islands, 
where they might be under the protection of the allied 
fleet, and to embark with all possible speed, ere the 
millions of Persia surrounded them. All his eloquence 
and address were necessary to prevail upon his country- 
men to adopt this measure. According to the general 
practice of those times, superstition was called in to 
his aid. He obtained from the oracle at Delphos an 
answer to this effect, '* Athens can only be saved by 
wooden walls," which he interpreted according to his 
wishes. An incident occurred at that crisis, which 
decided the question, and which is supposed to have 
been wholly contrived by Themistocles, who well knew 
the effect produced on a popular assembly by the most 
trifling circumstances. The sacred serpent, which 
was religiously preserved in the temple of Minerva, 
and considered a symbol of the presence, and pledge 
of the protection, of the goddess, suddenly disappeared. 
The tidings of this disaster alarmed the Athenians 
more than all the forces of Persia. " Our divine pro- 
tectress is fled," they exclaimed, '*why should we delay 

L 



146 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



any longer?" The decree was instantly passed in a 
general assembly, that the city should be left to the 
protection of Minerva ; that all the youth capable of 
bearing arms should embark in the Athenian galleys, 
and that the rest should adopt the best measures they 
could devise for the transportation of their wives, 
parents, and children, to some place of safety." The 
scene which followed, in pursuance of this decree, was 
heart-rending. To quit their homes, their possessions, 
the temples of their gods, and the tombs of their an- 
cestors, was revolting to their feelings; but still more, 
to leave behind them, as they were constrained to do, 
many sick, infirm and aged, whom it was found im- 
possible to remove. The city, the surrounding plains, 
and the sea-shore, resounded with lamentations of dis- 
consolate families, whose members were reduced to 
the sad necessity of tearing themselves from each other's 
arms, with scarcely a faint hope of re-union, or rather, 
with the certainty, in many instances, of a final sepa- 
ration. There were some who could not be prevailed 
with to embark upon superstitious grounds. They 
believed that the tutelary goddess of Athens would 
never permit her favourite city to become the prey of 
barbarians. They supposed the response of the oracle 
referred not to the fleet, but to the citadel of Athens, 
which was chiefly built of wood ; in which, therefore, 
they resolved to fortify themselves, in perfect con- 
fidence of success. 

The progress of Xerxes, through Boeotia and Attica, 
was rapid and destructive. The cities of Thespiae and 
Platae were rased to their foundations ; the former, for 
having contributed to the desolations of Thermopylag, 
and the latter, of Marathon. The sanguinary tyrant 



ESSAY VI. ATHENS BURNT BY XERXES. 147 

was enraged beyond measure when he found himself 
disappointed of his revenge by the emigration of the 
Athenians. He entered the city, with the intention of 
putting all its inhabitants to the sword, but found it 
deserted, with the exception of a few very aged per- 
sons in extreme decrepitude, and a small number of 
citizens, who had resolved to defend the citadel to the 
utmost. These made a feeble resistance for a short 
time, and at length, in a fit of desperation, threw 
themselves from the battlements upon the pikes of the 
besiegers. The city, after having been abandoned to 
pillage, was reduced to ashes by the express order of 
Xerxes. Intelligence of his success was despatched 
to Susa, and occasioned unbounded demonstrations of 
joy, both in that remote capital and in the numerous 
provinces of the Persian empire ; as though the costly 
preparations — the vast expenditure both of blood and 
treasure — and all the perils and hardships of the 
Persian expedition, were amply compensated by the 
plunder and conflagration of a deserted city. 

Plut. in Vit. Themist. Herodot. lib. 8. Pausan. lib. 2. Diodor. 
Sicul. lib. 11. 



REFLECTIONS. 

Britons, above all other nations, are indebted to 
" wooden walls" for their defence. They owe to these 
impregnable fortifications not only their wealth and 
power, and pre-eminent influence ; but their very ex- 
istence as a nation. Other empires have been con- 
vulsed and overthrown, whose limits were far more 
extensive, and whose subjects were incomparably more 

L 2 



148 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



numerous than those of Britain. They have, in turn, 
become the prey of the mighty destroyer of mankind. 
Yet, amidst all these surrounding desolations, the 
British empire has stood like one of her own inac- 
cessible rocks. To what is this her safety in the midst 
of danger to be ascribed? The first great cause of 
her security, (which ought most devoutly to be ac- 
knowledged,) is, undoubtedly, the protecting hand of 
God ; but the secondary and instrumental cause has 
been, her powerful fleet. This, when invasion threat- 
ened, has proved the bulwark of our land ; this has 
often frustrated the designs of our most inveterate ad- 
versaries ; this has given stability as well as honour to 
the British throne, amidst the general wreck of Euro- 
pean governments. Should a similar catastrophe 
await this favoured empire, to that which has been 
recorded of Athens — should it ever be permitted that 
some stern destroyer desolate our borders, still might 
these floating castles furnish a secure retreat from the 
fury of the oppressor to myriads who would prefer 
exile to slavery — the British navy might still prove an 
ark, which should contain the precious remnant of 
British liberty, and bear it safely to some inviolable 
sanctuary. It becomes us to employ with gratitude 
those means of protection, which the good providence 
of God has afibrded us, but not to make them instru- 
ments of pride, or engines of destruction. This iEgis of 
our land, when used for defence, is England's glory ; but 
if it were ever to be made, as the Athenian fleet after- 
wards became, an injurious and destructive weapon, 
in the hands of unprincipled ambition, it would be at 
once her dishonour and her curse. 

However revolting it may be to our feelings to 



ESSAY VI. ATHENS BURNT BY XERXES. 149 

dwell, even for a moment, upon the distressing scenes 
of the most successful war, it may have a beneficial 
moral influence upon the mind. There is too great a 
disposition to hide both from ourselves and others, 
the inevitable horrors of war. It is too common to 
mask the countenance of this sanguinary Moloch ; to 
conceal those features that are terrific or loathsome, 
and exhibit those alone which are imposing and at- 
tractive. A thousand panegyrists will be found to 
expatiate on the victories of Marathon and Salamis 
and Plataga — to paint in glowing colours the valour of 
the conquerors, and the happy consequences of their 
splendid achievements — but how few are willing to 
sketch the gloomy reverse of the picture, and present 
to the imagination a correct outline of the ra'pine and 
carnage, the terror and anguish, the calamities and 
desolations, that were inseparable from these glorious 
triumphs ! Were we sometimes to constrain our minds 
to rest on the appalling circumstances that must attend 
the indiscriminate plunder and conflagration of a once 
flourishing city, or the utter devastation of provinces 
and kingdoms, it would be impossible to approve, 
much less could we breathe, the martial spirit of the 
age. Unless the mind had previously been rendered 
callous by familiarity with scenes of blood, it must 
turn away from such representations with sickening 
disgust, and the deepest abhorrence, indignantly ex- 
claiming with the Author of the Task, 

But let eternal infamy pursue 
The wretch, to nought but his ambition true. 
Who, for the sake of filling with one blast 
The post-horns of all Europe, lays her waste. 
The globe and sceptre in such hands misplaced, 
Those ensigns of dominion, how disgraced 

COWPER, voL 



150 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II, 



The calamity which befel the Athenians, notwith- 
standing the most strenuous exertions of their brave 
defenders, reminds us that the justice or injustice of 
a cause is not to be estimated by its present good or ill 
success. It cannot be doubted that virtue will ulti- 
mately triumph over vice ; truth, over error ; reli- 
gion, over impiety — but the contest may long wear not 
only a doubtful, but a highly discouraging, aspect. 
Truth and virtue, and religion, may seem to languish ; 
the adversaries may seem to gain strength, and com- 
mit fearful ravages ; some strong holds may be taken, 
and the shout of triumph heard in the camp of the 
ungodly. Yet let none despair ; as the haughty Per- 
sian was ultimately put to a disgraceful flight, and 
Athens rose in greater splendour, so shall the sacred 
cause of truth and holiness prevail, and all the eflbrts 
of their enemies terminate in final ruin. 



ESSAY VII. 

The Conclusion of the Fersian War. 
FROM A. C. 480-478. 

The capture and destruction of Athens so dispirited 
the confederate Greeks, that they had almost deter- 
mined, in a council of war, to withdraw their fleet 
from the advantageous station it occupied in the 
straits of Salamis, and confine their efforts both by 
sea and land to the defence of the Peloponnesus. 
Themistocles contended most strenuously against the 
proposed measure, and at length prevailed upon Euri- 
biades, th^ Spartan commander of the fleet, to relin- 



ESSAY VII. END OF THE PERSIAN WAR. 



151 



quish it altogether. Ever fertile in expedients, and 
wholly regardless of their truth or justice, he con- 
trived an artifice, which quickly decided the question. 
He sent private information to Xerxes, that the Gre- 
cian fleet intended to escape from Salamis in several 
detachments. Elated with his recent success, and 
confidently anticipating the capture of the whole fleet, 
the Persian monarch instantly blockaded the mouth of 
the straits, and issued orders for a grand naval engage- 
ment. He was earnestly dissuaded from the attempt 
by Artemisia, queen of Halicarnassus, who commanded 
in person the squadron she had furnished, as a tribu- 
tary princess. But all her arguments were despised, 
and her conduct ascribed to female cowardice. Xerxes 
resolved to be the spectator of a conflict which he 
flattered himself, would prove so glorious to his arms. 
A magnificent throne was placed for him upon an 
eminence which commanded the straits, and a great 
part of his army was stationed along the coast, within 
sight of the hostile fleets. The event, however, soon 
undeceived the vain-glorious prince, and hurled him 
at once from the pinnacle of presumptuous confidence 
into the gulf of desperation. He saw with extreme 
mortification, the adverse fleet bear down with re- 
sistless impetuosity upon his lines, break and scatter 
them in every direction, drive a great part of his gal- 
leys upon the coast of Attica, and sink many of his 
largest vessels. The Greeks followed up their naval 
victory, by disembarking from their ships, and attack- 
ing the Persian troops which had been stationed on 
the shore, when wholly unprepared for the assault. 
Xerxes saw the dreadful havoc made in the midst of his 
encampments with the utmost consternation, and al- 



152 HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK IT 



ready imagined his affairs irretrievable. Not conceiv- 
ing himself any longer safe in any part of Greece, he 
hastened with such of his forces as he could suddenly 
collect, to the shores of the Hellespont. Arrived there, 
he found his magnificent bridge, over which he had a 
short time before led his prodigious army, in eastern 
pomp, destroyed by a tempest, and was reduced to the 
necessity of crossing the channel, as some say, in a 
small fishing-boat, which he borrowed for the occasion. 

Mardonius, however, was left behind, to winter in 
Greece, with three hundred thousand troops, who 
were, in the following summer, to complete the con- 
quest of the Peninsula, and retrieve the disgrace which 
had befallen them in the former campaign. During 
the interval, the Greeks were emploj-ed in dedicating 
the spoils they had collected to their several deities, 
in assigning to the different commanders the prizes of 
wisdom or valour, and in celebrating games and festi- 
vals in commemoration of their late victories. The- 
mistocles was greeted with the loudest acclamations 
of the Greeks, at the Olympic games, which were ce- 
lebrated soon after the battle of Salamis. When he 
entered the amphitheatre, the whole assembly rose 
from their seats to do him honour ; every eye was 
fixed upon him; his name was shouted by ten thou- 
sand voices, and all with one consent proclaimed him 
the guardian of the liberties of Greece. 

But the struggle was not yet over. Two more tre- 
mendous battles were fought, before the design of 
subjugating Greece was finally abandoned by the Per- 
sians. The one at Plataea, in which engagement, 
Mardonius, who had been a principal instigator of the 
war, was killed, together with a great number of the 



ESSAY VII. 



BATTLE OF PLAT^A. 



153 



Persian nobles ; and, on the same day, another, scarcely 
less sanguinary and destructive, was fought at Mycale 
in Ionia. The former victory was gained by Pausanias 
the Spartan, aided by the wisdom and valour of Aris- 
tides the Athenian ; the latter by Leotychides of 
Sparta, in conjunction with Xantippus of Athens. 
The immediate consequences of these two simulta- 
neous and complete victories were, the precipitate re- 
treat of the scattered remains of the Persian army ; 
the replenishing of the public treasures of Greece, by 
the abundant spoil found in the Persian camps ; the 
emancipation of Ionia from the yoke of Xerxes ; and 
an undisturbed possession of the Asiatic coast secured 
to the Grecian states. — When intelligence of the anni- 
hilation of both his armies, in one eventful day, reached 
Xerxes at Sardis, he issued orders, as a last act of re- 
venge, to plunder and demolish all the temples be- 
longing to the Grecian cities in Asia — a mandate 
which was executed in every instance, except that of 
the magnificent temple of Diana at Ephesus — and 
then hastened to his distant capital, resolved to banish 
all remembrance of his disgrace, by resigning himself 
to the most debasing sensuality. 

Plut. in Vit. Themist. et Aristid. Herodot. lib, 8 et 9. Diodor. 
lib. 11. Justin, lib. 2. cap. 12—14. 



REFLECTIONS. 

Thus ignobly terminated the greatest military enter- 
prise ever undertaken by man. How distinctly and 
emphatically does it teach the uncertainty of human 
expectations — the vanity of human greatness — the 



154 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



JBOOK II. 



danger of pride and presumption — and the doctrine of 
a retributive providence. In what impressive accents 
does it proclaim, " The Lord knoweth the thoughts 
of man, that they are vain. Verily, every man in his 
best estate is altogether vanity. Let not the strong 
man glory in his strength, nor let him v^^ho is girding 
on his armour boast himself, as he that taketh it off. 
Verily, there is a God that judgeth in the earth." 

How widely different were the dreams of this in- 
fatuated prince in his imperial palace, before he em- 
barked in this ill-fated expedition ; and his mortify- 
ing recollections after his disgraceful return ! Whilst 
making preparations for the enterprise, his imagina- 
tion rioted in the sanguinary prospect of desolating 
Greece with tire and sword, and leading her sons and 
daughters into gloomy captivity ; but afterwards, there 
remained nothing but chagrin and vexation, arising 
from mortified pride and unsated revenge. Is it not 
thus that the felicity anticipated from criminal indul- 
gences, terminates in all the confusion of guilt, and ail 
the anguish of remorse. Fitly is the mind, perpetu- 
ally agitated with such passions, compared by the 
Spirit of Truth, to " a troubled sea, which cannot 
rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is 
no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." 

Let the vain-glorious and ambitious draw near to 
contemplate this humiliating but instructive scene. 
Contrast the magnificence and pomp with which the 
haughty monarch of Persia was surrounded, when he 
entered Greece, with the ignominious circumstances 
of his retreat, or rather of his flight. Mark attentively 
the agitation of his countenance, so indicative of the 
tempest of his soul, while, from his stately throne he 



ESSAY VII. 



RETURN OF XERXES. 



155 



witnessed the demolition of his hopes, and the total 
discomfiture of his fleets and armies. See him, whose 
prodigious retinue lately encumbered the earth, and 
almost covered the face of the deep, tossed about in a 
borrowed fishing-boat, with scarcely a single atten- 
dant, and deeming himself happy to escape with his 
life. Contemplate this scene, ye that seek great things 
for yourselves, and say, was this a happy man ? If 
such be human greatness, is it worth the pursuit ? Or 
is it the part of wisdom to consume a life fraught 
with eternal destinies, and employ powers capable of 
boundless expansion, in grasping at these bubbles, or 
chasing these shadows ? " How long will ye spend 
money for that which is not bread, and your labour for 
that which satisfieth not ? " 

Nothing is more unbecoming the nature or condition 
of man, as a dependant mortal, than presumptuous 
self-confidence. Exposed to a thousand contingencies, 
which no penetration of which he is possessed could 
foresee, nor any power of which he can boast could 
prevent — does it become him to go forth, confidently 
relying upon his own strength, trusting to his own re- 
sources of wisdom or power, and presuming that he 
can command success ? What can be expected to re- 
sult from such vain confidence, but complete and speedy 
ruin ? If there be any inference to be drawn from the 
experience of all former ages, it is most assuredly this, 
that pride and presumption are the worst enemies of 
man. If there be any truth of Scripture that is most 
abundantly confirmed by daily observation, it is this, 
" Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit 
before a fall." These are the passions which war 



156 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK ir. 



against the soul, and, unless they be resisted and sub- 
dued, will ultimately *' drown it in perdition," 

In the calamitous issue of the memorable expedition 
of Xerxes, a remarkable instance of retributive pro- 
vidence may be discerned. That vain-glorious prince 
could scarcely fail to read his sin in his punishment. 
He went forth, arrogating to himself the honours and 
prerogatives of deity, proudly defying the rocks and 
billows, and requiring their submission. But he re- 
turned, convinced that he was weak as other men ; 
taught by many painful and mortifying lessons his de- 
pendence, if not upon the elements themselves, yet upon 
that Supreme Being whose mandate they obey ! Thus 
have the inventions of human pride been frequently 
made, by the righteous providence of God, the instru- 
ments of its chastisement. Those evils have befallen 
the haughty sinner, from which he flattered himself 
he was most secure ; and he has been defeated by 
those enemies whom he most despised. 

Happy, thrice happy they, who, by these retributive 
dispensations of divine providence, are taught to 
humble themselves beneath the mighty hand of God, 
and, abhorring themselves, " to repent in dust and 
ashes." 



ESSAY VIII. 

The Treason and Death of Pausanias. 
A. C. 476. 

It has been already stated that the splendid victory 
of Plateae was obtained by the combined talents of 



ESSAY VIII. 



TREASON OF PAUSANIAS. 



157 



Pausanias and Aristides. The consummate skill, as 
well as invincible fortitude, manifested in the conduct 
of that battle, acquired the unlimited confidence of 
their country for the generals who conducted it so 
successfully. They were intrusted with the command 
of a numerous fleet, designed to recover, from the 
grasp of Persia, those islands and maritime cities of 
Greece, that were still under her yoke. In this object 
also they completely succeeded. The island of Cyprus, 
and the important city of Byzantium on the Helles- 
pont, were amongst the first that surrendered, where 
many distinguished Persians fell into their hands, as 
prisoners of war. 

But one of these generals, Pausanias, had a mind tod 
susceptible of vanity to bear such continued prosperity. 
He quickly became so far intoxicated with his successes, 
as to throw off the austerity of the rigid Spartan, and 
assume all the state of a Persian satrap ! He rendered 
himself inaccessible to the allies, by a splendid train 
of foreign guards. His deportment was insufferably 
haughty and imperious to his fellow-warriors, and 
even to Aristides. Relinquishing the self-denying 
habits and plain attire of the Spartan, he closely imi- 
tated the luxuries and splendour of the eastern na- 
tions, demanded the profoundest homage of all who 
approached him, and issued the most extravagant and 
sanguinary orders. This change of manners and con- 
duct naturally produced dissatisfaction, and awakened 
suspicion in the Grecian fleet. It became too evident 
that he had formed the design of betraying both his 
country and the whole Grecian fleet into the hands of 
Xerxes. A secret correspondence had been carried on 



158 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



with Artabazus, one of the Persian governors, in 
which he had stipulated to liberate the Persian nobi- 
lity, whom they had taken at Byzantium, on condition 
of receiving large sums of money ; and still farther, he 
promised to deliver to Xerxes the city of Sparta and 
all Greece, if the king of Persia would give him his 
daughter in marriage. This secret negotiation, though 
not yet proved, was so strongly suspected by the allied 
Greeks, that they resolved to place themselves under 
the conduct of Aristides and Cimon, on whose inte- 
grity they implicitly relied. The rumour soon reached 
the Spartan government, who summoned Pausanias 
home to take his trial. Either for want of sufficient 
evidence, or in consequence of having bribed his 
judges, he was acquitted of treason, and escaped any 
other punishment than degradation from office and a 
heavy fine. 

Though no longer commander-in-chief, nor indeed 
holding any office, he returned to the scene of action, 
conducted himself more arrogantly than before, and 
renewed his treasonable correspondence with Artaba- 
zus. It was long before any decisive proof of the con- 
spiracy could be discovered, on account of the barba- 
rous practice, adopted by both parties, of putting to 
death every messenger employed in the negotiation. 
At length, however, the whole was discovered by a 
youth, named Argilius, whom he had intrusted with a 
letter to Artabazus, on the delivery of which he was 
to have been massacred, as all the former messengers 
had been. Argilius, suspecting this from the circum- 
stance of so many preceding heralds having disap- 
peared, carried the packet, with which he was charged, 



ESSAY VIII, DEATH OF PAUSANIAS. 



159 



to the ephori at Sparta, who immediately summoned 
Pausanias by the scytale^, a mode of communication 
only used on great and solemn occasions. Notwith- 
standing the manifest departure of this unworthy 
Spartan from the simplicity and inflexible fidelity 
which the laws of Lacedaemon required, he had not so 
completely lost the Spartan character, as to set those 
venerable institutions at defiance. He complied with 
the summons, though well aware, from its formality, 
that his guilt was discovered ; indulging, probably, a 
confident hope that his ill-gotten wealth would enable 
him to corrupt his judges. But if such were his ex- 
pectations, they were vain. The evidence contained 
in the letter was conclusive. It was confirmed, by a 
conversation between the traitor and his slave, who 
betrayed him, in the temple of Neptune, where the 
latter had taken refuge from the dreaded vengeance 
of his master. In consequence of this full discovery 
of his treason, Pausanias was sentenced to death ; but, 
having received information of the event, he precipi- 
tately fled to the temple of Minerva. The laws of 
Sparta, as well as popular superstition, prohibited 
the use of violent measures in forcing a criminal from 
the sanctuary, to which he had fled for refuge. The 
expedient, therefore, which was adopted by the ma- 

* The scytale was a narrow scroll of parchment, which had 
been rolled on a staff, exactly corresponding- to one with which 
every Spartan g-eneral was furnished, and stamped with the seal 
of the republic. By applying- this document to his official rod, the 
contents of the scytale became leg-ible, and the orders of the Spar- 
tan g-overnment were ascertained. No Spartan, however exalted 
his rank, had dared to disobey the instructions of his official instru- 
ment. 



160 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



gistracy of Sparta, was, to surround the temple with 
a guard, cut off all supplies, and leave him to perish 
with hunger. It is even said that the mother of Pau- 
sanias directed them to the expedient of blocking up 
the doors, by laying the first stone at the door of the 
temple ; and then, without uttering a word, retired to 
her own house. 

Thucyd. lib. 1. Divxlor. Sicul. lib. 9. Plut. in Aristid. Cora. 
Nep. in Pausan. 



REFLECTIOXS. 

There are comparatively- few who possess sufficient 
firmness of mind to bear with moderation an uninter- 
rupted tide of prosperity. Here and there an Aris- 
tides may be found, who retains his integrity of cha- 
racter, and humility of deportment, amidst the seduc- 
tions of wealth and powder. But how much more com- 
mon it is to meet with characters like Pausanias, who 
become insolent, imperious and corrupt, in propor- 
tion to the measure of their success ; who lose almost 
every trace of their former simplicity of manners and 
habits of self-denial, amidst the snares and fascina- 
tions of worldly abundance. Alas! how many, who 
have drank deeply of this Circean cup, are either com- 
pletely transformed and reduced by its inebriating 
influence to a condition the most degrading, or else 
sink, to rise no more. Never is there greater cause 
to adopt the prayer of inspiration, *' Hold thou me 
up, and I shall be safe," than when the current of 
prosperity is strong and rapid. Those, who are 
conscious of their own weakness, will feel that they 
have at least equal need of divine succour to preserve 



ESSAY VIII. 



PAUSANIAS. 



161 



them in prosperity, as to support them under adver- 
sity — and that, in both extremes, all their suffi- 
ciency is of God." To Him, therefore, let our fervent 
prayers be addressed, who alone is able to keep us 
from falling, v^^hether our path stretch along the slip- 
pery ridge of v^^orldly honour, or wind amongst the 
crags and precipices of affliction and sorrow ! 

To what fearful lengths of iniquity may persons 
run, ere they are aware, who resign themselves to the 
tyranny of their own passions. They are quickly hur- 
ried to the perpetration of crimes, the distant thought 
of which would, at one time, have excited the deepest 
abhorrence. Can it be doubted, that if an individual, 
possessed of the spirit of prophecy, had acted the 
same part towards Pausanias on the day of the battle 
of Plataea, which Elisha, on another occasion, acted 
towards Hazael — if he had presented him with the 
future portrait of himself, disclosed the treason for 
which he afterwards suffered death, and all the other 
circumstances of his guilt — can it be doubted that the 
indignant reply of Pausanias would have been similar, 
" Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this ?" It 
would then have appeared incredible that any change 
of condition, or any possible degree of prosperity, 
could so far corrupt his Spartan principles, as to 
transform him from a devoted patriot to a time-serv- 
ing traitor. He would have probably shuddered at 
the thought of being engaged in a treasonable corre- 
spondence with the enemy to whom he was then op- 
posed ; and found guilty of an intention to betray that 
country, in whose service he was then ready to shed 
his last drop of blood ! Such a wretched compound of 
inconsistency and depravity is man, till the principles 

M 



162 



HISTORY OP GREECE. BOOK II. 



of genuine piety produce a rectitude of principle — a 
stability and consistency of character, which other- 
wise could never be obtained. Thus have many com- 
menced the career of life with flattering appearances 
— for a short time they have run well — their youth has 
inspired the warmest hopes, and given the fairest pro- 
mise of future excellence — ^but ere they have attained 
the middle of their course, they have turned aside 
into the path of the destroyer, and terminated their 
days in infamy and ruin. 

The character, whose disgrace and fall has been 
just related, affords another striking proof, in addi- 
tion to the thousands that daily occur, of the insuffici- 
ency of human laws, however pure, or education, 
however strictly virtuous, to communicate principles 
which will stand the test of strong temptation. No 
code could be devised more calculated to prevent cor- 
ruption, and cut the sinews of avarice and ambition, 
than that of Sparta. Nor can a mode of education 
be conceived more fitted to produce and cherish the 
strictest integrity in public life, than that which Ly- 
curgus instituted. Yet how soon were these bar- 
riers broken through, impregnable as they appeared, 
when assailed by bribery and corruption ; and the 
first captive, who became their easy prey, was no less 
a character than the conqueror at Plataea, who, after 
having stood unmoved amidst a shower of Persian 
darts, was mortally wounded by Persian luxury and 
wealth. It must then be admitted that some purer 
and stronger principles of action, than those which 
nature or education can impart, are necessary, to for- 
tify the mind against temptation, and enable it to re- 
tain its integrity in the hour of trial. These are the 



ESSAY VIII. 



PAUSANIAS. 



163 



principles of revealed truth contained in the Holy 
Scriptures — so pure that nothing can corrupt — so 
powerful that nothing can resist them — principles 
which will stand the longest and severest test, either 
of reproach and suffering, or of insidious flattery and 
treacherous friendship — principles which will not 
shrink even from a fiery trial. These sacred princi- 
ples form a celestial panoply, which is proof against 
every hostile weapon, and ensures the final triumph 
of all who wear it. *' Wherefore take unto you the 
whole armour of God, that ye may be able to with- 
stand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." 



ESSAY IX. 

A general View of the Character and public Life of 
Themistocles. 

BORN A. C. 514. DIED A. C, 449. 

The name of this illustrious Athenian has fre- 
quently occurred in several of the preceding essays. 
He acted a most distinguished part upon the theatre 
of Greece, in one of the most eventful periods of her 
history. His political conduct, the numerous and di- 
versified incidents of his public life, and many of his 
more remarkable sayings, have been preserved by an- 
cient historians, with a minuteness of detail that suf- 
ficiently proves the interest felt, both by his contem- 
poraries and successors, in every thing that related to 
him. These documents furnish ample materials for 
the general view of the character of Themistocles, 
which is attempted in the present essay. 

M 2 



164 



HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK II. 



The qualities of Themistocies were rather dazzling 
than of sterling worth. They were calculated to ex- 
cite the admiration, rather than gain the confidence, of 
his fellow-citizens. An ambitious and enterprising 
character — endowed by nature with a commanding 
person and vigorous mind — his natural endowments 
strengthened and improved by education — eloquent in 
speech and determined in action — alike skilful in 
every branch of military and political science — fertile 
in the invention, and prompt in the execution, of im- 
portant designs — such a character was sure to obtain 
distinction in the popular government of Athens. 
Such a character the concurring testimony of ancient 
biographers proves Themistocies to have been. 

Of his ambition and love of glory a striking proof is 
recorded by Plutarch, who relates that after the battle 
of Marathon, in which Militiades gained so splendid 
a victory, Themistocies was observed to retire from 
society, and spend many successive nights in pensive 
solitude. When his friends anxiously inquired into 
the cause of this depression of mind, he replied, that 
" the trophies of Miltiades would not permit him to 
sleep." Indeed the great object of his life seems to 
have been, to acquire and maintain a superiority, not 
only in Athens, but through all Greece. This was 
the secret spring of all his political measures. If he 
exerted himself to procure the banishment of the vir- 
tuous Aristides, it was not from any conviction that 
that inflexible patriot was dangerous to the common- 
wealth, but merely from a dread of his inflexible jus- 
tice, envy at his growing popularity, and a desire to 
exclude a formidable rival, who stood in the way of his 
ambition. If he proposed to the Athenians to collect a 



Essay ix. 



THEMISTOCLES. 



165 



powerful fleet, it was manifestly intended to prepare, 
not only for the approaching conflict with Persia, but 
for a yet more arduous struggle, which his discerning 
mind foresaw, between his own country and the rival 
states of Greece ; in which Athens would owe her su- 
periority solely to her maritime strength. If he sug- 
gested to the Athenians the propriety of quitting their 
city, of fortifying the Piragus its adjoining harbour, 
and of greatly augmenting their fleet — if he continually 
urged the Athenians to some new enterprise, whether 
just or unjust — all these measures were obviously the 
result of selfish and unprincipled ambition, though, 
in some instances, they were eminently beneficial to 
his country, and might, at first view, be ascribed to 
patriotic motives. 

But the most conclusive evidence of his willingness 
to sacrifice every thing to glory, may be drawn from 
the nefarious design he communicated to Aristides, of 
burning the ships of the allies, at a moment in which 
they were engaged in defending the common liberties 
of Greece — a. proposal at which that upright statesman 
started back with horror, pronouncing it the most un- 
just and perfidious of projects. Through his whole 
administration, indeed, he evinced a total disregard to 
justice in the means he adopted for the attainment of 
his wishes. Money was frequently extorted from such 
of the allies as were too weak to resist his demands. 
The most unworthy artifices were made use of, to de- 
ceive not only the enemies of his country, but those 
who were in strict alliance with him. On several oc- 
casions he received bribes, if not from avaricious mo- 
tives, yet with a view to augment his influence and 
strengthen his authority. If a system of duplicity and 



166 



HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK II. 



dissimulation, carried on under the disguise of truth 
and honesty, be essential to state policy, the world has 
scarcely ever seen a more finished statesman than The- 
mistocles, who was a perfect master in all these arts. 

His artifices were, for a time, successful to the ut- 
most extent of his wishes. He saw the republic of 
Athens flourish ; his own authority was unbounded ; 
not a rival could stand against him ; he was the popu- 
lar idol, whom all Greece consented to worship. His 
insatiable ambition could scarcely desire more homage 
and applause than was rendered him by the Greeks, 
who had assembled for the celebration of the Olympic 
games, after the victory of Salamis. This pinnacle 
of fame was a dangerous eminence to a character so 
susceptible of flattery, so fond of admiration as The- 
mistocles; an eminence from which he was shortly 
afterwards precipitated on a sudden. The people of 
Athens grew tired of their idol, and threw it down 
from the lofty pedestal on which they had placed it. 
Themistocles, in his turn, became an object of jealous 
suspicion. He was pronounced dangerous to the com- 
monwealth, and banished for ten years. 

Themistocles retired first to Argos, but was soon 
obliged to withdraw from the territories of Greece, 
on account of the suspicion generally entertained of 
his having been implicated in the treason of Pausa- 
nias. It sufficiently appeared in the trial, and after 
the death of that traitor, that Themistocles was in- 
formed of the conspiracy, and concealed it ; whilst, in 
his private letters to Pausanias on the subject, he re- 
jected, with indignation, every proposal to join in the 
enterprise. The Lacedaemonians were, on many ac- 
counts, highly incensed against him, and left no means 



ESSAY IX. 



THEMISTOCLES. 



167 



untried to procure a sentence of death against one 
whom they had ever considered the secret enemy of 
Sparta. From the persecution of his enemies, he fled 
to Admetus, king of Molossus, who had previously 
entertained the deepest resentment against him ; but 
now he saw his dreaded adversary, a wretched exile, 
supplicating his protection, he generously forgot all his 
former enmity, and made his own palace the asylum 
of the distinguished outlaw. 

Yet, even there, Themistocles did not consider him- 
self beyond the grasp of his enemies. He escaped to 
Persia, and sought the protection of Artaxerxes, who 
had succeeded to the crown, and treated him with 
great distinction and kindness. After having resided 
some years at the Persian court, the province of Mag- 
nesia was assigned him, with a large revenue attached 
to it, where he again lived in great splendour. But 
when Artaxerxes, resolving to invade Attica with a 
large army, appointed Themistocles to take the com- 
mand of the expedition, the love of his country and a 
high sense of honour operated so strongly on his mind, 
as to induce him to prefer putting an end to his ex- 
istence rather than desolate his native country. This 
eminent, but unhappy Athenian, who had ever been 
so fertile in expedients, could devise no other means 
of extricating himself from these embarrassing cir- 
cumstances, than that of drinking a cup of poison ! He 
died at Magnesia, in the 65th year of his age. 

Plut. in Vit. Theraist. Corn. Nep. in Themist. Herodot. lib. 8 
et 9, Thucydid. lib. 1, Sfc. Sfc. 



166 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



REFLECTIONS. 

The most splendid talents and illustrious birth can- 
not compensate for the want of moral qualities. It 
must be admitted that few of those who have made a 
figure amongst mankind, have possessed more of those 
qualities which are usually considered great, than 
Themistocles. He was richly endowed by nature with 
a powerful genius and a penetrating mind. His native 
talents were highly cultivated, by education in every 
department of science then known at Athens, under 
the most distinguished masters. He possessed a soar- 
ing spirit, a dignified mien, an eloquent tongue, an 
insinuating address — ^with whatever else was calcu- 
lated to dazzle or overawe the multitude. Yet, alas ! 
he wanted honesty. His public life was a continual 
course of duplicity. His hands were not clean from 
bribery, nor was his heart free from the degrading 
passions of avarice and envy. These hateful vices 
tarnished all his brilliant gifts, and neutralized all his 
excellencies. They rendered him, even in the zenith of 
his fame, far more an object of disgust or pity than of 
admiration or envy. It is true, the applauses of the 
multitude and the honours of this world are usually 
lavished on the great rather than the good; shining 
are preferred to useful qualities ; the glittering tinsel 
of outward accomplishments is estimated more highly 
than the sterling graces of a virtuous character. But 
Christian principles will correct these radical errors ; 
in proportion as they are influential, they will separate 
the pure gold from the dross ; they will dissolve the 
charm of worldly greatness, which throws an illusive 
splendour round the palaces of vice, and surrounds 



ESSAY IX. 



THEMISTOCLES. 



169 



with clouds and thick darkness the lowly habitations 
of virtue. They will teach us both to discern and 
" approve things that are excellent." 

The eventful life of Themistocles shews, that the 
most consummate art will not always succeed, and 
that " the wise are frequently taken in their own 
craftiness." The artifices which have been most in- 
geniously contrived, have recoiled, with augmented 
force, on those who practised them. He that me- 
ditated the destruction of others by unjust violence, 
has found himself involved unjustly in a similar con- 
demnation. The fall of Themistocles might have 
been anticipated by all who knew his real character, 
and had attentively observed the usual course of di- 
vine providence. For seldom has it been seen that 
the dark dissembler, who carries on his designs by 
fraud and falsehood, escapes the toils he has spread 
for others ; nor are the examples less rare of those 
who have sacrificed every thing to ambition without 
ultimately plunging themselves into disgrace and ruin. 

The conduct both of Admetus and Artaxerxes to 
Themistocles, not only deserves to be recorded with 
honour, but imitated by all who are placed in similar 
circumstances. A revengeful temper may rejoice in 
the distresses of enemies, and embrace, with malig- 
nant pleasure, the opportunity which their calamities 
afibrd to tread them in the dust ; but even a generous 
heathen, and much more a meek and forgiving 
Christian, would be disarmed of every resentful feel- 
ing by seeing his enemy cast down, and brought to his 
feet in the posture of supplication. He who feels the 
sympathies of nature, and much more whose mind is 
deeply imbued with the lovely principles of the Gospel, 



170 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



will Jay aside all remembrance of former injuries, when 
his adversary is in distress ; and if he hunger, will 
feed him ; if he thirst, will give him drink ; and if 
he implore protection, will shelter him from injustice 
and oppression. Let all who name the name of Christ 
go and do likewise. 

Unhappy Themistocles ! and was this the melan- 
choly close of thy splendid career ? Thus didst thou 
terminate, in ignominy and guilt, a life spent in fruit- 
less efforts to secure the friendship of a fickle world ? 
Was this the sad recompense of the signal services 
rendered thine ungrateful country — to become a 
wretched exile — a needy pensioner on the bounty of 
thine enemies — a guilty suicide ! Who can refuse a 
tear to thy unfortunate memory ? Yet, while posterity, 
in far distant ages, weep over thy tomb, they see in- 
scribed there in indelible characters, "The wages of 
sin is death." 



ESSAY X. 

Character of Aristides. 
DIED A. C. 467. 
The Athenian statesman and warrior, whose name 
is prefixed to this essay, was almost, in every respect, 
the exact reverse of his celebrated contemporary and 
rival, whose character has been just sketched. He 
was of comparatively mean extraction ; his parents 
were in low circumstances ; his early advantages were 
few and exceedingly limited. The talents he dis- 
covered in youth were not brilliant, but sterling. The 
qualities in which he excelled were chiefly moral and 



ESSAY X. 



ARISTIDES. 



171 



intellectual ; such as were calculated to win the esteem 
and confidence of the discerning, rather than to gain 
the applause of the multitude. Modest and retiring 
in his natural disposition, he avoided public notice as 
far as possible ; but, when duty urged, he did not 
shrink back from the most difficult or invidious task ; 
firmly resolved on all occasions to administer justice, 
both to friends and foes, with the most rigid impar- 
tiality. In the most trifling, as well as in the most 
important, concerns, he adhered inflexibly to truth, nor 
could he be induced, either by threats or promises, by 
flatteries or rewards, to swerve from it. He was no 
less wise and brave than Themistocles, but his wisdom 
partook less of cunning, and his bravery was less ve- 
hement and boisterous than that of his political rival. 
He possessed a remarkable calmness of temper, which 
attended him through life, amidst all his diversified 
scenes. He combined the most rigid integrity of 
principle and conduct, with habitual suavity of man- 
ners — ^themost heroic courage with calm deliberation— 
an ingenuous boldness of character, with unassuming 
modesty. Notwithstanding the unfavourable circum- 
stances in which he was placed, so unusual a com- 
bination of moral excellence could not fail to engage 
attention, especially in the republic of Athens, where 
merit was much more regarded than rank. Though 
he was quite a youth, when the battle of Marathon 
was fought, he was appointed to the command of one 
division of the Athenian army. A short time after that 
victory, to which he had contributed so essentially, he 
was elected to the office of Archon, a dignity which had 
never before bee<n conferred on any but persons of high 
rank in the republic. These circumstances sufficiently 

■* 



17;^ 



HISTORY OP GREECE. BOOK II. 



prove that his fellow-citizens were not insensible to 
his worth, long before his character was fully deve- 
loped by the interesting events of his future life. 

The predominant virtue of Aristides, which acquired 
him the unlimited confidence both of the Athenians 
and all the other Grecian states — and, in consequence 
of which, he was honoured with the title of ** the 
Just " — was unimpeachable integrity. This admirable 
quality, so necessary both in private and public life, 
was frequently put to the severest test during his 
administration, and, in every instance, proved in- 
vincible. After the battle of Marathon, the spoils 
of the Persian camp were intrusted to his care, pre- 
viously to their distribution amongst the conquerors ; 
a charge which he executed with the utmost fidelity. 
When it became necessary, during the progress of the 
war, to levy a tax upon all the Grecian republics, 
that they might contribute, in equal proportions, 
to its support, Aristides was chosen, by common 
consent, as the only individual in Greece to whom they 
could safely commit so difficult and delicate a task. He 
discharged the important functions of the treasurer- 
general of Greece with so much ability and equity, as 
to satisfy all parties. A decisive proof of the incor- 
ruptible fidelity with which he managed this public 
treasury during many years, is found in the testimony 
of his biographer, that he left not sufficient wealth to 
defray the expenses of his funeral, and that his children 
were educated, after his death, at the public charge. 

It was to be expected, that this unyielding dis- 
position, opposed as it was to the growing corruptions 
of the times, would procure him many enemies. 
Themistocles, especially, hated him, both on account 



ESSAY X. 



ARISTIDES. 



173 



of his high reputation, and because of the severity with 
which that statesman had frequently reproved his dis- 
honest artifices. Nor could he rest till the faction 
opposed to Aristides, acquired so much strength, as to 
procure his banishment by the Ostracism *. 

A circumstance is recorded, in connexion with that 
event, which sets the character of Aristides in a highly 
interesting point of view. When the people of Athens 
were assembled to vote for his banishment, an illiterate 
citizen came to him, not suspecting the person whom 
he addressed to be that celebrated statesman, and de- 
sired him to write Aristides upon the shell which was 
to contain his vote. The accused Athenian meekly 
inquired, whether Aristides had ever injured him?'' 
*' No," replied the citizen, "I do not even know 
him, but I cannot bear to hear every one call him 
Aristides the Just" The upright patriot made no 
reply, but took the shell, wrote upon it his own name, 
and returned it to his envious fellow-citizen. When 
he quitted Athens, he poured forth a prayer, that 
his country might never be obliged to think with re- 
gret of the banished Aristides !" 

It was not long, however, before the Athenians felt 
convinced that they had unjustly driven from their bor- 
ders a most upright and virtuous citizen, who, far 

* The Ostracism was a mode of punishment intended for popular 
characters, who were supposed to have acquired so much influence as 
to be dangerous to the commonwealth. The manner in which it 
was performed, was, by inscribing the name of the obnoxious indivi- 
dual on a tile or oyster-shell, and he, upon whom the majority of 
votes fell, was banished for ten years, if the number of votes amounted 
to six thousand. His property was not confiscated, nor his family 
disinherited ; and, in many instances, the exile was recalled with 
honour, as soon as popular envy or party violence had subsided. 



174 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



form being dangerous to the republic, was its principal 
pillar, as well as its brightest ornament. This con- 
viction was strengthened by his many disinterested 
attempts to render essential service to his country 
during his exile. He anxiously watched the move- 
ments of the common enemy, and generously apprized 
the commanders of the allied army, and even his 
bitterest foe, Themistocles, of their manoeuvres ; 
offering them, unsolicited, the most salutary advice. 
His ambitious rival, fully aware of the sentiments of 
the Athenians, determined to anticipate their wishes, 
and proposed the recal of Aristides ; who gladly 
hastened to the standard of his country, and cordially 
assisted Themistocles in all the future operations of 
the war. He was content to sacrifice his ease, his 
interest, and even his reputation, to the public good ; 
willing to occupy any station in which he might 
effectually serve his beloved country, even though that 
station were subordinate, and those services unknown. 
Amongst all the characters of antiquity, scarcely one 
can be found, in whom so many of the properties of 
genuine disinterested patriotism were blended together. 

When Themistocles became the object of suspicion 
and envy, (as was stated in the preceding essay,) Aris- 
tides was far from wishing to retaliate on his fallen 
rival the injuries he had received from him. Instead 
of joining with those adversaries of Themistocles, who 
accused him of capital crimes, he pleaded his cause, 
and endeavoured to avert the storm of popular indig- 
nation from him. Though unsuccessful in this 
generous design, he sympathized with him in his dis- 
tresses and persecutions, which he ever considered 
as most unjust. His old age was occupied with in- 



ESSAY X. 



ARISTIDES. 



175 



structing in the principles of government, and training 
up for public life, those youths who were most pro- 
mising ; and to whom he foresaw that the future 
direction of the republic would be committed. 
Amongst these, Cimon, the son of Miltiades, was 
the most distinguished — a pupil worthy of such a 
master ! To him, Aristides was most affectionately 
attached, as a father to his son: nor was his paternal 
tenderness ill repaid, for that amiable youth honoured 
and cherished his preceptor in his declining years, 
and, after his death, paid the highest respect to his 
memory. Aristides is almost the only celebrated 
Athenian who died in peace and honour, having 
retained to the latest moment of his life, the con- 
fidence, esteem, and gratitude of his unstable country- 
men. 

Plut.in Vit. Aristid. Thucyd. lib. 1. Diodor. lib. 11. 



REFLECTIONS. 

Seldom is it the gratifying task of the Christian 
historian, to exhibit to mankind a character so richly 
fraught with what may be almost denominated 
Christian graces ^ as that of the virtuous Aristides. 
He may be justly reckoned amongst the brightest 
constellations of the heathen world — a constellation of 
moral excellence, whose mild radiance was the more 
visible on account of the surrounding gloom of igno- 
rance and vice. It has seldom been seen that natural 
religion, though planted in the most favourable soil, 
was capable of producing such exquisite fruits. Ad- 
mitting, (for truth requires us to admit,) that his 



176 HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK II. 



virtues were too highly coloured by his partial bio- 
graphers, who knew not the sacred standard of evan- 
gelical holiness ; yet, with every abatement made, in 
consideration of the false and imperfect medium 
through which his character is contemplated by us, 
there is enough to cover with shame the immoral 
professor of religion, and provoke to emulation the 
genuine Christian. 

Whilst the former is reminded of the meekness, the 
modesty, the disinterestedness, the integrity, the jus- 
tice, the self-denial, the patience, the forgiveness of 
injuries — all of which were discernible in the public 
and private life of Aristides — must not at least a 
transient blush suffuse his countenance at the con- 
sciousness of his own pride, covetousness, dissimu- 
lation, malice, or revenge ; crimes so much the more 
heiHOus, on account of their having been committed 
in violation of a law distinctly revealed, and far 
superior to that which was written in the conscience 
of this virtuous heathen? The latter may, with the 
utmost propriety, be excited, by such an eminent 
example, to an inquiry, " What do I more than others 
—more than some even of the heathen world ? Greater 
privileges have been afforded — more abundant means 
of instruction have been granted — a brighter dispensa- 
tion of mercy has dawned — and are not my obligations 
to humility and self-denial, to purity of heart and in- 
tegrity of conduct, increased in equal proportion ? 
Let me then demonstrate the superior influence of 
Christian principles, by exhibiting more lowliness of 
mind — greater meekness and disinterestedness — more 
refined benevolence, and a higher tone of virtue, than 
any of which the heathen world could boast." 



ESSAY X. 



ARISTIDES. 



177 



If such be the tendency of a subordinate example, 
like that of Aristides, to excite a well-disposed mind 
to virtuous emulation, how much more the elevated 
example of Jesus, who did no sin, neither was 
guile in his mouth who was holy, harmless, unde- 
filed, and separate from sinners. Who can contem- 
plate his transcendent excellence without desiring to 
imitate it — without endeavouring to purify himself, 
even as he was pure ?" If it be of advantage to study 
attentively the imperfect copies of virtue that have 
been transcribed by fallible men, accompanied as they 
were, with numerous omissions and corruptions ; how 
much more beneficial the study of the divine original, 
in which no error can be found— every line and cha- 
racter of which is adorned with all the beauty of holi- 
ness ! The truly pious mind surveys, with ineffable 
delight, these emblazoned characters, and longs to 
transcribe them with perfect accuracy. Or, if this 
sublime object be unattainable, its ardent prayer will 
be poured forth in sentiments like these, 

Be thou my pattern, make me bear 

More of thy gracious imasfe here: Watts. 

for " then shall I be satisfied when I awake up in thy 
likeness." 

The old age of an useful member of society, who 
has spent both his youth and the vigour of his days in 
efforts to do good, whether he has moved in a humbler 
or more elevated sphere, deserves to be cherished and 
honoured by all, but especially by the young. It re- 
flects high honour on the venerable Aristides, that, 
after having ** borne the heat and burden of the day," 
though exhausted with long-continued and important 
services rendered to the republic, his declining days 



178 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



were profitably spent in furnishing the minds of his 
probable successors in office, with maxims of wisdom 
and sound policy. Nor does it reflect less credit on 
the amiable son of Miltiades, that, at a moment in 
which the widest field of ambition lay before him, 
with scarcely a rival to enter the lists with him, he 
was willing to sit at the feet of his preceptor, and 
listen with affectionate reverence to his paternal 
counsels. This lovely scene conveys a salutary lesson 
to the aged and the young ; to the former, it points 
out the proper business of declining years, and to the 
latter, it exhibits the juvenile character in its most 
interesting and attractive form. 



ESSAY XI. 

On the Character 0/ Cimon, and a general View of the^ 
Affairs of Greece during his Administration. 
DIED A.C. 449. 

After the banishment of Themistocles and the 
death of Aristides, none seemed so capable of directing 
the Athenian republic and carrying on the Persian 
war, as Cimon, who is said to have combined the 
military talents of the former with the moral qualities 
of the latter. A pleasing trait of his early youth has 
been sketched in a former essay*, which afforded a 
presage of future excellence. Yet the hopes, which 
this fair blossom of filial piety had excited, seemed to 
be blasted. Deprived of the guide of his youth, he 
became the prey of the dissolute and gay ; he gave 

* See Book II. Essay 3. 



ESSAY XT. 



CIMON. 



179 



himself up to criminal excesses ; and disgraced his 
illustrious birth by the most immoral practices. From 
these vicious habits he was reclaimed by the ajffec- 
tionate admonitions, the paternal counsels, and the 
virtuous example of Aristides, whose discerning mind 
saw, amidst the sallies of youthful passion, the germ 
of intrinsic merit. From that time, his character 
exhibited a complete reverse to the licentiousness of 
his youth. He became a pattern of amiable con- 
descension and virtuous deportment. 

Called by his country, as well as by the appoint- 
ment of the confederate states, to the command of the 
allied army, his first object was to follow up the suc- 
cesses which had been already obtained over the 
Persians, with such vigour and determination, as 
should oblige the king of Persia to solicit peace. With 
this view, he invaded and conquered, in quick suc- 
cession, Thrace, Caria, and Lycia; and even pene- 
trated into the heart of Persia. Artaxerxes saw the 
storm gathering, and prepared to defend the frontiers 
of his empire against his enterprising adversary. But 
his efforts to resist the victorious army of Cimon were 
vain. The numerous fleet he had collected was com- 
pletely routed in a naval engagement near the island 
of Cyprus, and his formidable army was annihilated at 
Eurymedon. The Persian camp was taken by strata- 
gem, and all its treasures fell into the hand of Cimon 
and his army, together with a great number of il- 
lustrious captives. By these rich spoils, and the 
subsequent ransom of the prisoners, the Athenian 
general acquired great wealth, and, having effectually 
humbled the pride of Persia, returned in triumph to 
his native city. 

N 2 



180 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



After his return, he first dedicated a tenth of the 
plunder to Apollo, as an acknowledgment that he was 
indebted to the god of wisdom for his honours and 
victories ; and the remaining portion was expended in 
acts of public and private munificence. His abundance 
was employed both in repairing and strengthening the 
fortifications of Athens, and in embellishing that city 
with splendid edifices, public schools and ornamental 
gardens, exclusive of the part he reserved for the most 
diff'usive beneficence. It is recorded to his honour, 
that he amassed riches only to use them, and em- 
ployed them for no other purpose than to acquire 
esteem and confer happiness." Far from aiming at 
ostentatious display, or forming luxurious habits, he 
seems to have considered his substance rather as the 
property of the public than his own. His extensive 
and beautiful gardens were always open to the citi- 
zens of Athens. His abundant, but not sumptuous, 
table, was spread for his fellow-countrymen without 
distinction. To the poor he was most liberal, for, not 
content with personal acts of kindness, he instructed 
his domestics and attendants to supply their necessi- 
ties on all occasions. Nor does he appear to have 
done this, either from ostentatious motives or the 
desire of popularity, but rather from an overflowing 
kindness of heart. 

But neither the munificent liberality nor the military 
glory of Cimon, could protect him from the arts of 
Pericles, who had risen to eminence in the republic by 
gratifying the passions and feeding the vices of the 
common people. At the instigation of this popular 
idol, Cimon was banished by the Ostracism. The 
charge alleged against him by his insidious rival. 



ESSAY XI. 



CIMON. 



181 



was, that he was too warmly attached to the Lace- 
daBinonians, whose example he had frequently held 
up to his countrymen, as, in many respects, worthy of 
imitation, and whose hostility he had uniformly de- 
precated. Yet, even in exile, he imitated his virtuous 
predecessor, in watching over the interests of the 
Athenian republic. 

The jealousies between Sparta and Athens, (which 
will be traced to their source in a subsequent essay,) 
now began to ferment and threaten an immediate 
rupture ; an event which Pericles had, from the first, 
laboured to accomplish, but which was dreaded by the 
people of Athens, who well knew the invincible 
bravery of the Lacedaemonians. To avert this cala- 
mity, they eagerly turned their eyes towards the 
banished son of Miltiades, whose influence with the 
Lacedaemonians they knew to be great. Pericles him- 
self proposed his recal, which was almost immediately 
followed by a five years' truce between Athens and 
Sparta. But Cimon was convinced, from an attentive 
observation of the Athenian character, that that rest- 
less people must have some public object in view , and 
therefore undertook to prosecute the Persian war, 
which had languished from the time of the victory of 
Eurymedon. He sailed to Cyprus, which he again 
rescued from the yoke of Persia, and where his suc- 
cesses were so decisive as to induce the monarch of 
the greatest empire of the world, to sue for peace with 
the Greeks, on their own terms. The principal stipu- 
lations were, the independence of the Grecian colo- 
nies in Asia, the exclusion of Persian ships of war 
from the seas which bounded Greece, and of the 
armies of Persia, from every place within three days* 



182 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



march of the coast." Thus ended a struggle which 
had continued more than forty years, during which 
prodigies of valour had been wrought, and by the suc- 
cessful termination of which, the liberties of Greece 
were finally established. 

Whilst this treaty with Persia was negotiating, 
Cimon died in the isle of Cyprus, but his death was 
carefully concealed till the Athenian fleet had safely 
arrived at Athens. His loss was deeply lamented. 
His memory was honoured more by the lamentations 
and tears of the people than by monumental tablets. 
With him expired the real prosperity of Greece, for 
almost immediately after his death, the Peloponnesian 
war began* 

Plut.inVit.Cim. Coru.Nep.inCim. Thucyd. lib. 1 . Diodor.Iib. 1 1. 



REFLECTIONS. 

The advantages of a religious education are in- 
estimable. Happy are they whose privilege it is in 
early youth, to dwell with wise and pious instructors, 
who, with unremitting care and tenderness, watch 
over their spiritual interests, and endeavour to pre- 
serve or reclaim them from the path of the destroyer ! 
How often have the efforts of those who care for the 
souls of the young so succeeded, as to produce im- 
pressions which are never effaced, and lead to an 
entire change of character and habits ! " One sinner," 
if he be a bosom friend, " may destroy much good ;" 
but, on the other hand, one intimate companion of 
decided piety, whose admonitions evidently proceed 
from affection, and whose instructions are enforced 



ESSAY XI. 



CIMCN. 



183 



by example, may be an instrument of incalculable 
usefulness. He is no common benefactor to mankind, 
who is the means of reclaiming one licentious and pro- 
fligate youth, and preparing him for important stations 
either in the church or in the world. Not the indivi- 
dual alone, whose feet are disentangled from the toils 
of criminal pleasure and conducted into the way of 
peace, has cause to rejoice in the change, but society 
at large may participate both in the benefit and joy. 

Let none disdain to learn from the illustrious citizen 
of Athens, an outline of whose character has been 
sketched — the right use of wealth. It is an important 
trust, to whomsoever it may be committed, and in- 
volves a high degree of responsibility. If the bounties 
of divine providence are lavished with thoughtless pro- 
fusion— -if they are made instruments of pride and 
luxury — if they only serve to gratify a vain and osten- 
tatious mind — they are perverted and abused. The 
blessing is, in every such instance, turned into a curse. 
Nor is it less criminal to amass wealth from avari- 
cious motives, for the mere gratification of possessing 
it, and watching its increase ; for let it be remem- 
bered, not only is that steward condemned in Scrip- 
ture, who wasted his lord's substance, but he also who 
hid his talent in the earth, instead of occupying it till 
he came. From Cimon of Athens, though an heathen, 
we may learn, that riches are only of value as far as 
they are instruments of doing good. They open many 
channels of usefulness. They supply many streams of 
benevolence. They furnish the means of augmenting 
the sum of human happiness. They yield an oppor- 
tunity of gratifying some of the best feelings of the 
heart ; those which are excited by the consciousness of 



184 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



having contributed in some degree, to the comfort and 
Welfare of mankind. 

It reflects no small honour on the memory of Cimon, 
that in all his military expeditions he aimed at the 
restoration of peace. He prized his laurels, chiefly, 
as leading to a general pacification. His last public 
act was Aie termination of a long, sanguinary, and 
destructive war. When will Christian rulers breathe 
the same spirit? when will the legislators of lands, 
denominated Christian, evince the same reluctance to 
continued hostilities ? If the God of armies bless the 
warrior with victory in the prosecution of any legiti- 
mate warfare, that success ought not to cherish a vain- 
glorious disposition, much less should it increase his 
appetite for war ; rather should it excite an earnest 
hope that the fruit of conquest will be peace, and that 
it will soon be permitted to him to dep.osit both his 
weapons and laurels in the temple of Concord. If he 
be a Christian warrior, he will infinitely prefer to be 
arrested in the midst of his career of military glory by 
a successful negotiation, rather than pursue a splendid 
course in which personal or national fame must be 
purchased with groans and tears of blood ! He will 
pour forth unceasing prayers to the " Goo of Peace," 
that desolations might come to a perpetual end, and 

wars cease to the ends of the earth." 



ESSAY XII, 



FIRST PELOPONNESIAN WAR. 



185 



ESSAY XII. 
On the Circumstances leading to the Peloponnesian War* 
BEGAN A. C. 431. 

Hitherto we have seen the Greeks an united and 
confederate body, leagued against the common foe, 
but for the most part at peace amongst themselves. 
There had been, indeed, contentions between the 
principal republics and their dependent colonies, as in 
the Messenian wars. The real or supposed interests 
of adjacent provinces had, in some instances, clashed, 
and produced a temporary concussion. Symptoms of 
dissatisfaction had occasionally appeared, and even 
low murmurs of disapprobation had been heard, when 
one of these republics adopted a measure, which 
threatened the liberties of the rest. But as yet they 
were too well convinced of the necessity of union, and 
had been too fully employed in foreign wars, to strive 
amongst themselves for pre-eminence. 

The most discerning of their statesmen had long 
foreseen, that such a struggle for power would, 
sooner or later, take place. They had recommended 
to their several states the adoption of precautionary 
measures. — ^The sagacious Themistocles, especially, 
was fully aware of the approaching stmggle, and, 
contemplating it with a fixed eye, directed the whole 
force of his genius, and all the energies of the re- 
public, to naval preparations. The first moment of 
inactivity, occasioned by the treaty with Persia, was 
embraced by the restless and ambitious Athenians, as 
a favourable opportunity for asserting the superiority 



186 



HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK II. 



of their flourishing and powerful republic, and de- 
manding the submission of the weaker states. The 
Lacedaemonians were not unconcerned spectators of 
the aggressions made by the Athenians on the inde- 
pendence of Greece. Though less vehement and im- 
petuous, they were not less proud and ambitious than 
the citizens of Athens ; and whilst they were more 
solicitous to throw the veil of equity and justice over 
their public proceedings, they were equally disposed 
to violate the rights of independent states. In this 
irritated state of feeling towards each other, it might 
be expected that every trifling circumstance would be 
a ground of accusation and mutual jealousy. The 
smallest spark would be sufficient to enkindle such 
combustible materials. 

A variety of causes had long operated to produce 
and cherish this spirit of rivalry. It may be traced as 
far back as to the irruptions of the descendants of 
Hercules in the fabulous ages. The interference of 
the Spartans in the internal government of Athens, 
at the time of the expulsion of Hippias, strengthened 
these feelings of animosity. During the Persian war, 
necessity urged them to unite their forces ; but the 
questions that continually arose respecting the supreme 
command, the selfish policy of the. Lacedaemonians in 
exposing Attica by defending the Peloponnesus, and 
even the victories alternately obtained by one and the 
other party, caused this " root of bitterness" to spread 
farther, and strike deeper. The Spartans viewed with 
an alarm, which the circumstances of the times obliged 
them to conceal, the rapid increase of the Athenian 
fleet under the conduct of Themistocles ; the fortifi- 
cation both of the city and harbour of Athens, after 



ESSAY XII. FIRST PELOPONNESIAN WAR. J 87 

their wooden walls had been burnt by Xerxes ; and 
the many important maritime stations, which the 
victorious arms of Cimon had annexed to the territories 
of the republic. But they were most of all incensed 
with the arrogance of the Athenians, who, at the 
instigation of Pericles, had issued a decree, requir- 
ing of all the Grecian states to send deputies to 
Athens, to deliberate on .the best means of repairing 
the mischiefs of the late war, and providing for the 
future safety of Greece. This proposal, the obvious 
design of which was to assert the supremacy of 
Athens, and make that city the metropolis of Greece, 
was rejected with disdain by the Peloponnesians, and 
especially by the senate of Sparta. In that city, 
the ambassadors of Athens were openly derided, 
and sent back without a reply. On their return, 
Pericles exclaimed in an assembly, convened to 
deliberate on the means of enforcing their decree, 
that " he beheld war advancing with wide and rapid 
steps from the Peloponnesus;" and then in a strain of 
impassioned eloquence called upon his fellow-citizens 
to humble the pride of Sparta. 

The strides of this destroyer of mankind were in- 
deed rapid beyond expectation. A train of incidents 
arose which accelerated his pace, and terminated in 
arming one half of Greece against the other. These 
were, the revolt of the flourishing colony of Corcyra 
from the ancient republic of Corinth — the appeal of 
both the contending parties to the Athenians— their 
decision, after much deliberation, in favour of the 
Corey reans, and treaty of defence with them— and 
the application of the Corinthians to Lacedcemon for 



188 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



aid against this formidable confederacy of Athens and 
Corcyra. After the arguments of the ambassadors of 
Corinth had been heard at full length in the senate of 
Sparta, and opposed both by some distinguished 
Athenians, who happened to be present, and Archi- 
damus, one of their own kings, who strenuously con- 
tended for peace, the fatal die was cast, and the ma- 
jority of votes were given in favour of war. 

This decision, fraught with such momentous conse- 
quences to almost every Grecian state, (for all found 
it necessary to espouse one or the other side,) took 
place in the fourteenth year after the treaty with Per- 
sia had been concluded. But another year elapsed 
before the Lacedaemonians were prepared to com- 
mence operations by the invasion of Attica, during 
which interval, they were professedly occupied with 
attempts at conciliation, but were really and actively 
employed in forming a powerful confederacy against 
Athens. When this secret league was completely ar- 
ranged, and preparations were made for the arduous 
struggle, the mask was thrown off ; a menacing and 
haughty message was sent to the Athenian assembly, 
which was quickly followed by a numerous and highly- 
disciplined army. Both parties degraded themselves 
not only by embarking in this dreadful fratricide, but 
still more, by soliciting the assistance of their com- 
mon enemy against each other. For it is recorded to 
the infamy of Sparta, that she applied to Artaxerxes 
the Persian monarch, and Perdiccas king of Macedon, 
for supplies of men and money ; and not less to the 
disgrace of Athens, that she contracted an alliance 
with Sitalces, chief of a powerful but barbarous tribe 



ESSAY XII. FIRST PELOPONNESIAN WAR. 189 

in Upper Thrace, which had frequently made incur- 
sions into the territories of Greece. 

Thucydid. lib. 1. Diodor. lib. 12. Plut. in Vit. Pericl. 



REFLECTIONS. 

Never does the destroyer of mankind appear so 
hideous, as when he assumes the unnatural form of 
what is usually termed civil war- — a contest in which 
brother lifts up his murderous weapon against brother, 
the son not unfrequently plants his dagger in a fa- 
ther's bosom, or the father pierces the heart of an only 
son. This must be numbered amongst the most ma- 
lignant effects of human depravity — the bitterest fruits 
of sin. It affords the most decisive proof of the deep 
and total corruption of our apostate nature ; for, un- 
less such a fearful depravation had taken place, it 
would be impossible to account for the influence of 
these infernal passions, and their direful consequences. 
Upon no other principle, can we reconcile the preva- 
lence of such desolations, with the superintendence of 
an infinitely wise and gracious Being. These are the 
rebukes with which the Sovereign Ruler of the Uni- 
verse *' corrects man for his iniquity." These, " the 
terrible things in righteousness," by which he teaches 
individuals and nations how " evil a thing and bitter 
it is to sin against the Lord," and causes their flesh 
to tremble for fear of his judgments." 

But hateful as civil discord is, far more disgraceful 
and mischievous are those contentions which have 
been too frequently carried on, with the utmost viru- 
lence, between the several parts of the Christian 



190 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK IT. 



church. — Alas ! too long has the professed family of 
Jesus, the Prince of Peace, been divided against itself ! 
Too often have Christian brethren striven together, if 
not with fire and sword, yet with bitter words and 
malignant tempers ! Too frequent occasions have been 
given to the adversaries of the Gospel, to triumph in 
the hostile attempts of different denominations of the 
Christian church, to weaken and destroy each other, 
who ought rather to have maintained inviolate their 
spiritual confederacy against the common foe. All 
the genuine patriots of Greece lamented to see Athe- 
nian and Spartan warriors, who had so often and so 
bravely fought, side by side, against the hosts of 
Persia, armed against each other. So must all, who 
are cordially attached to the universal church, weep 
over the melancholy spectacle of champions of the 
Christian faith, who have successfully contended with 
the legions of infidelity, turning their weapons against 
each other, and fiercely warring about words, or forms, 
or modes of faith and worship. 

Most of all is it to be deplored, that these animosi- 
ties between brethren should have risen to so great a 
height, as to induce them rather to seek an alliance 
with the adversaries of religion, than to desire 
mutual reconciliation. Who would have expected to 
see the ambassadors of Sparta, so soon after the 
memorable victories of Plataea or Eurymedon, obse- 
quiously bowing in the presence of the great king 
Artaxerxes, and humbly supplicating his assistance, 
to enable them to crush their Athenian brethren? 
And who, in like manner, would expect to witness a 
scene so disgraceful, as that of the church of God 
forming an unnatural alliance with the world, and 



ESSAY XII. FIRST PELOPONNESIAN WAR. 191 

borrowing thence weapons of carnal policy, with which 
to strive amongst themselves ? O ! that the spirit of 
peace were shed abundantly on the city of our God ! 
that, taught by the example, and constrained by the 
authoritative commands, of their divine Master, all 
who profess to be his disciples might " love one an- 
other with pure hearts fervently!" 



ESSAY XIII. 

Character of Pericles, and Progress of the Pelopon- 
nesian War. 

from A. C. 431— 429. 

Pericles contributed more than any other Athe- 
nian to the greatness and to the ruin of his country. 
The measures adopted during his reign, (for his go- 
vernment of the republic can scarcely bear another 
name,) were such as to throw a temporary radiance of 
glory around the Athenian state, but their conse- 
quences were most calamitous, both to his own coun- 
try and the rest of Greece. 

He was one of the sons of Xant'hippus, who had ac- 
quired great celebrity by gaining the victory of My- 
cale, alluded to in a former essay*. His education 
was principally intrusted to Damon, a man of great 
erudition and refined taste, who accompanied his 
scientific and rhetorical lectures, with instructions in 
the principles of government and incitements to mili- 
tary glory. The moral and philosophical branch of 
his education was committed to Anaxagoras of Clazo- 

* See Book II. Essay VII. 



192 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



menae, who has been denominated " the philosopher 
of mind," on account of his being the first of the an- 
cient philosophers who distinctly taught that the 
creation and government of the world was not to be 
ascribed to chance, but to a supreme and intelligent 
mind. Pericles was instructed by this illustrious pre- 
ceptor in that profound and inexhaustible department 
of science, the knowledge of the human heart, its 
passions and prejudices, its motives and tendencies, 
together with the secret springs that influence the 
conduct of mankind; a species of knowledge most 
essential to a legislator. Aware of the influence of 
oratory upon a popular assembly, he cultivated, with 
the utmost attention, the art of elocution, so as to be- 
come the most eloquent and graceful of the orators of 
Greece. These splendid accomplishments reminded 
the Athenians so forcibly of Pisistratus, whose insinu- 
ating talents had subverted the liberties of his coun- 
try, that they viewed with suspicion his first entrance 
on public life, and heard with jealous distrust his 
highly-polished and eloquent harangues. This sensa- 
tion was so strong, that he narrowly escaped being 
banished by the Ostracism, while yet standing on the 
threshold of administration. 

But Pericles, with consummate art, withdrew for a 
time from public observation, affected to shun all in- 
terference with the politics of Athens, and to give 
himself w^holly to literary pursuits. In the mean time, 
he secretly flattered the people, maintained their 
* right to greater privileges and immunities, soothed 
their passions, flattered their vanity, and thus quickly 
became their idol. As Cimon was his most formidable 
rival, he was anxious, by indirect means, to procure 



ESSAY XIIT. 



PERICLES. 



193 



his banishment, in which, unhappily for his country, 
he was but too successful. His way to supreme ho- 
nours being now open, he entered on the career of 
ambition, and soon plunged his country into all the 
calamities of the Peloponnesian war. A short respite 
was afforded by the recal of Cimon, and the truce 
concluded with Sparta, to both which measures Peri- 
cles reluctantly acceded ; but soon as the death of 
Cimon left him without a political rival, he studied 
alone to establish his authority by measures which, 
whilst they gratified the vanity of the Athenian, pro- 
voked to hostilities the Lacedaemonian confederacy. 

When it was perceived that the first object of the 
Spartan league would be, to invade Attica with an 
overwhelming force, Pericles prevailed upon the Athe- 
nians to retire into the city, which had been strongly 
fortified, and leave their villas and fields exposed to 
the ravages of the invading army. Whilst they thus 
stood on the defensive at home, he proposed that the 
Athenian fleet, which was mistress of the seas, should 
make reprisals from the territories of Sparta and her 
allies, by committing similar ravages on their coasts, 
and oblige them ultimately to withdraw their forces 
from Attica. 

A temporary clamour was excited against Pericles, 
Vv^hen, from the walls of their city, the Athenians saw 
their mansions consumed by the flames, and the fruits 
of their fields reaped by hostile bands ; when the me- 
lancholy tidings reached them of the total devastation 
of their late fertile borders. But that statesman, rely- 
ing on the success of his plan of defence, made no 
reply either to their menaces or entreaties. The result 
he had anticipated quickly followed. The confederate 



194 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



army under Archidamus, king of Lacedaemon, strait- 
ened for supplies, and unequal to the siege of Athens, 
was recalled to defend their own coasts from the ag- 
gressions of the Athenian fleet. In consequence of 
the naval superiority of the Athenians, and the inex- 
perience of their adversaries In conducting sieges, the 
balance of success, during several years of the war, 
was greatly in favour of the former. But an enemy of 
a far different description awaited them, whose fear- 
ful ravages it was impossible to resist. In the second 
year of the Peloponnesian war, just at the time in 
which the whole population of Attica had taken re- 
fuge from a second invading army, within the walls 
of Athens, the plague which had already visited 
Ethiopia, Egypt, Libya, part of Persia, and several 
flourishing islands of the iEgean sea, broke out in 
that crowded city. Its symptoms were most distress- 
ing ; its progress rapid ; its consequences, in most 
instances, mortal. Its effects on those who survived 
were scarcely less dreadful ; some of whom lost the 
use of their limbs ; others, of their memory ; and 
many sunk into a state of fatuity. In vain did the ce- 
lebrated Hippocrates of Cos exert his utmost medical 
skill ; the disease spread with tremendous rapidity, till 
a great part of the population of Athens became its 
prey. Its moral influence has been represented as 
still more deplorable. The unhappy citizens became 
hardened and licentious, dreaming only of present 
pleasure, while dropping hourly into their graves. 
Amidst these complicated miseries, arising from the 
malignant influence of pestilence and war, the firmness 
of Pericles remained unshaken. He was even able, by 
eloquence and courage, to revive the drooping hopes 



ESSAY XIII. 



PERICLES. 



195 



of the Athenians. They were preparing to renew, 
with vigour, the plans of conquest, which had been 
interrupted by this dire calamity, when their admired 
leader was himself cut off by the plague, which broke 
out afresh, and committed new ravages. When he was 
on his death-bed, his friends expatiated, in his hear- 
ing, on the success of his arms, and the many trophies 
he had erected in commemoration of splendid victories 
obtained over the enemies of his country : "Ah 1" ex- 
claimed the expiring chief, " dwell not on these ac- 
tions, which are rather to be ascribed to fortune than 
skill : you have forgotten the most valuable part of 
my character, and that alone on which I can now re- 
flect with pleasure — that none of my fellow-citizens 
have bisen compelled, through any action of mine, to 
assume a mourning robe." It is no doubtful proof of 
the distinguished talents of this illustrious Athenian, 
that he administered public affairs, either conjointly 
with Cimon or alone, during upwards of forty years, 
and those too the most critical and perilous in the 
annals of the republic. 

Plut. in Vit. Cim. et Pericl. Thucyd. lib. 1. Diodor. Sicul. 
lib. 12. 



REFLECTIONS. 

There is, frequently, a wide difference between the 
external appearance of men and things, and their real 
characters. A careless or cursory observer would have 
concluded that Pericles was the first of statesmen, and 
the age in which he flourished, the most prosperous 
period in the history of Athens. When he contem- 
plated the increasing commerce, the numerous colo- 
o 2 



196 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



nies, and the powerful fleet of the republic — ^when he 
saw the fortifications of the city and its adjacent har- 
bour — when, especially, he observed the magnificent 
edifices, the costly temples, the splendid porticoes, that 
adorned every quarter of the city, and excited univer- 
sal admiration — when he surveyed, with rapture, the 
exquisite productions of the celebrated artists of that 
age, who carried their respective labours, in a few 
years, to the highest state of perfection — such an ob- 
server would infer that the ruler, under whose foster- 
ing care the arts and commerce of Athens thus flou- 
rished, and the republic rose to such unexampled 
splendour, must have been the protecting genius, the 
guardian angel of his country. 

But there is a melancholy reverse of the picture, 
which must be included in our estimate of the real cha- 
racter of Pericles, and of the Athenian republic during 
his administration. That celebrated statesman and 
warrior did not scruple to elevate himself by the most 
unjust and mischievous means. To secure the favour 
of the people, he gratified their worst passions, and 
indulged their most luxurious habits. To maintain 
the authority he had acquired by such criminal com- 
pliances, he falsely accused, and unjustly condemned 
the virtuous Cimon, who alone stood in the way of his 
elevation. Freed from this dreaded rival, he flattered 
the pride, and aroused the latent enmity, of the Athe- 
nians against their Spartan brethren. Urged by am- 
bition alone, he precipitated his country into a war, 
which was both unprovoked and unjust in its com- 
mencement, and most calamitous in its consequences ; 
a war, from which he reaped a few withering laurels 
to decorate his own brow, whilst he entailed upon his 



ESSAY XIII. 



PERICLES. 



197 



desolated country a sad inheritance of groans and 
tears and blood ; a war, which only terminated with 
the expiring liberties of his country ! 

The more accurate observer of the age of Pericles 
would be constrained to conclude, that the boasted 
splendour of his reign was but like the false glare of a 
meteor, which bewilders the midnight traveller — that 
his exalted talents only rendered him a more effective 
instrument of evil- — and that posterity had too much 
reason to execrate his memory, whilst they reaped the 
bitter fruits of his mistaken policy. He would be led 
to infer from such an example, that the merit of a 
public character is not to be estimated merely by his 
ability, but rather by his integrity, his purity of 
motive, his rectitude of conduct, and the tendency of 
his measures, to secure the tranquillity and happiness 
of mankind. Nor could he fail to learn from the cir- 
cumstances of that eventful age, that, however wealth 
and power, extended commerce and progressive refine- 
ments may shed a transient radiance round a country, 
they are, at best, but doubtful signs of national pros- 
perity. They afford no pledge of stability or security ; 
but, on the contrary, are frequently found to flourish 
most in the moment of greatest danger and impending 
ruin. 

How many shafts are there in the quiver of the 
Almighty ! How many instruments of vengeance can 
he employ, by which to punish the disobedience, and 
abase the pride, of man ? Shut up in their well-fortified 
city, the inhabitants of Attica set at defiance all the 
forces of the Peloponnesus, and anticipated the tri. 
umphs of their distant fleet ; when, on a sudden, they 
were visited with an unexpected adversary, whose ra- 



198 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



vages were more dreadful than the Spartan sword ; 
whom no gates of brass or rocks of adamant could ex- 
clude ; and by whose contagious influences these high- 
minded citizens of Athens were soon driven to the 
borders of desperation. So easy is it for the Sovereign 
of the Universe, by events the most unexpected, and 
judgments the most irresistible, to bring down even to 
the dust, the soaring ambition and presumptuous con- 
fidence of man, and teach the proudest nations to know 
themselves to be but men. 

The infatuation of the Athenians, who gave them- 
selves up to sensual indulgence and present gratifi- 
cation, amidst " the pestilence that walked in dark- 
ness, and the destruction that wasted at noon-day," 
bears but too strong a resemblance to the ordinary 
conduct of mankind ; who, amidst the perpetual in- 
stances of mortality with which they are surrounded, 
are intent alone on present pleasure, and regardless of 
their eternal interests. Amidst the ravages of death, 
how many are fatally secure, and, blind to futurity, 
grasp at the shadows, or gaze on the pageants, of this 
transitory world ! The practice, if not the language, of 
thousands is, " let us eat and drink, for to-morrow 
we die." Immersed in the cares, or intoxicated with 
the pleasures of this life, they seem to lose all con- 
sciousness that they are heirs of immortality, till, at 
an unexpected moment, they are swept away by the 
universal contagion. O that they were wise, that 
they understood this, that they considered their latter 
end!" 

The last moments of Pericles convey important in- 
struction to the reflective mind. That successful war- 
rior seems to have turned away with a feeling of dis- 



ESSAY XIII. 



PERICLES. 



199 



gust from the recital of his former victories and tri- 
umphs. He could no longer view with complacency the 
trophies he had erected in the days of his prosperity. 
He felt that in a dying hour, " miserable comforters 
were they all." Some source of consolation was then 
sought with earnestness, more pure in its nature, and 
more tranquillizing in its influence. But, after all , how- 
wretched was the expedient to which he was driven ! 
What a broken cistern was that to which he repaired 
in the hour of his extremity ! No other testimony could 
he extort from his accusing conscience than the cold 
and negative praise, of never having caused his fellow- 
citizens to put on a mourning robe. Unhappy mortal ! 
and was this the brightest gleam of hope that shone 
upon thy last hour—this the only staff on which thou 
couldst lean in pas*sing the valley of the shadow of 
death! Who, then, would envy thy lot, however splen- 
did? " Let me rather die the death of the righteous, 
and let my last end be like his ! " 



ESSAY XIV. 

The History of the Peloponnesian War, co7itinued to 
the Peace of Nicias. 

FROM A. C. 429—421. 

The affairs of Greece, during the period to which 
the present essay refers, possess little interest, unless 
the detail of a ruinous contest, carried on with un- 
abated vigour, and almost equal success, be deemed 
interesting. From the death of Pericles, to the tem- 
porary peace of Nicias, nothing but a dreary waste 
presents itself to the eye ; the unvaried and melan- 



200 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II' 



choly scenery of revolts, seditions, sieges, battles, ulti- 
mate defeats and victories, v^ith all the attendant cir- 
cumstances of devastation and destruction. It cannot 
be expected that an abridged history, and especially 
an history w^hich professes to be compiled with a view 
to religious instruction, should enter farther into these 
painful facts, than is necessary to preserve an un- 
broken series of events. 

The Athenians were afflicted but not discouraged by 
the loss of Pericles, to whom they had so long looked 
up with confidence, as the guardian of the republic. Hi- 
therto they had possessed a constant succession of men 
of genius and patriotism, to whom the administration 
of public affairs was committed by common consent. 
But the interval between Pericles and Alcibiades may 
be considered as a kind of interregnum, in which no 
person of commanding talents stood at the helm, and, 
consequently, the vessel of state was driven hither and 
thither by different parties, who attached themselves 
to difi^erent leaders. The third year of the war was 
chiefly occupied with the sieges of Potidaea by the 
Athenians, and Platsea by the Peloponnesians. The 
former of these places was soon taken, but the latter 
made a most vigorous defence. Though a small city, 
and containing but comparatively a few soldiers, the 
garrison, consisting of 500 Plataeans and Athenians, 
withstood the whole strength of the Spartan confede- 
racy nearly five years. When, at length, they were 
compelled to capitulate, the conditions granted them 
were most honourable ; but no sooner had the allied 
army obtained possession of the citadel, than they dis- 
gracefully violated the treaty, and put to death all the 
garrison that had surrendered themselves, in reliance 



ESSAY XIV. 



NICIAS. 



201 



upon the faith of Sparta. What would Lycurgus have 
said to these degenerate children ? 

Whilst the siege of Plataea vs^as proceeding, an event 
took place, interesting to both the contending parties, 
by which the attention of the principal states of Greece 
was drawn to a remoter point. This was the revolt of 
Lesbos, which was the most flourishing and valuable of 
the Athenian colonies. The Lesbians were instigated 
to this act of rebellion by Spartan emissaries, who pro- 
mised them the powerful protection of Lacedaemon, 
and induced them to hope that the combined fleets of 
Sparta and Lesbos might prove more than equal to the 
hitherto unrivalled fleets of Athens. This promised aid 
was, however, delayed so long, that Paches, the Athe- 
nian commander, arrived with a powerful fleet at Mity- 
lene, the capital of the island, and, with the utmost dif- 
ficulty, reduced it to its former state of subjection. The 
Athenians, at first, proposed to inflict signal punish- 
ment on the insurgents, by putting to death all the 
Lesbian prisoners, but afterwards relented, and set 
them at liberty. 

This insurrection was followed by new disturbances 
at Corcyra, attended with the most dreadful carnage. 
To the disgrace both of the Athenians and Spartans, 
they interfered in this civil discord, not to conciliate, 
but to inflame the passions and strengthen the animo- 
sities of the two conflicting parties. For a consider- 
able time, the principal city was one continued scene 
of atrocious murders. The temples, the altars of 
their gods, as well as the habitations of the citizens, 
streamed with blood. Eurymedon, the Athenian com- 
mander, not only was the spectator of this lamentable 
tragedy, but continually urged the enraged populace to 



20^ 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



greater enormities. Such cruelties were practised 
that, in future times, all sanguinary scenes were com- 
pared to " a Corcyrean sedition." 

About this time, the public opinion at Athens was 
divided between two individuals of widely different 
character, but whose influence in the republic was 
nearly balanced. Nicias was at the head of one of 
these parties, who was a most able and successful 
commander, yet a strenuous advocate for peace. 
Though he had frequently led both the fleets and 
armies of the Athenian confederacy to victory, he 
used every advantage, as an additional argument for 
immediate negotiation ; and still urged his country- 
men to lose no time in terminating those hostilities, 
which he deplored as the heaviest calamity that could 
have befallen them. But in all his benevolent ef- 
forts to procure a cordial reconciliation, he was con- 
stantly opposed by Cleon, a turbulent demagogue, 
who, by the most daring effrontery and infamous 
vices, inflamed the passions of the multitude, and 
elevated himself from the lowest condition to the 
highest rank in the republic. This bold and arrogant 
declaimer lost no opportunity of censuring the tardy 
measures and timid policy of Nicias, and even charged 
him with cowardice and corruption. 

An incident occurred, which tended greatly to in- 
crease the self-importance and popularity of this pre- 
tended patriot. The Spartans had committed an 
oversight in transporting a considerable number of 
their most distinguished citizens to Sphacteria, a 
small and barren island opposite to Pylus, which had 
recently been taken by the Athenians. Here they 
were blockaded, and reduced to (he utmost extremi- 



I 



ESSAY XIV. 



PEACE OP NICIAS. 



203 



ties by an Athenian squadron. In the first moment of 
consternation, the Lacedaemonians sued for peace, 
and Nicias strongly recommended to his fellow-citi- 
zens, to embrace so favourable an opportunity of ob- 
taining advantageous terms. But Cleon contended 
with vehemence against the measure, at a time in 
which the Spartan nobility were at their mercy. He 
offered to go with a small force to Sphacteria, and 
take possession of the Spartan prisoners immured 
there. He was taken at his word, and by accident ra- 
ther than design, accomplished the enterprise he had 
undertaken. The Spartan garrison were compelled to 
surrender at discretion. Inflated with this unex- 
pected and unmerited success, Cleon now aspired to 
the most important stations, and promised speedily to 
repair the losses which had been sustained in remote 
provinces, by the victories of Brasidas over the Athe- 
nian generals, Demosthenes and Thucydides. 

But Cleon little knew the difficulty of the task he 
had imposed upon himself, or the character of the 
distinguished warrior with whom he was to contend. 
With heedless presumption, he rushed forward to 
meet the brave, the skilful, the victorious Brasidas, 
who was at the head of a veteran army, flushed with 
recent successes ; who had in a few short months re- 
trieved the character of Sparta, and caused her fading 
laurels to bloom afresh ; who had seized on the most 
valuable Athenian settlements in Macedonia and 
Thrace, on which that republic chiefly depended for 
her silver and gold and naval stores. To this enter- 
prising and successful Spartan, the vain and inex- 
perienced Cleon was opposed, with an army consist- 
ing of the flower of the Athenian youth. The two 



204 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



armies met, and fought under the walls of Amphi- 
polis. In this engagement the commander on either 
side fell. The Athenian fled at the commencement 
of the action, and was killed by a private soldier that 
happened to meet him in his flight ; the Spartan re- 
ceived a mortal wound towards its conclusion, and 
expired in the arms of victory. 

The principal obstacles to peace being now removed 
by the death of Brasidas and Cleon, and both the con- 
tending powers having been instructed by the suffer- 
ings they had endured, as well as exhausted by their 
continual labours, a sincere desire of mutual accom- 
modation was expressed. The Athenians were anxious 
to recover their Thracian and Macedonian possessions, 
which the arms of Brasidas had wrested from them, 
and the Spartans no less anxious to regain the distin- 
guished prisoners that had been captured in Sphac- 
teria. Nicias was appointed by the former, and 
Pleistonax by the latter, with full powers to nego- 
tiate. A truce for one year was first proposed, then a 
treaty of peace was concluded for fifty years, and, 
finally, a league ofiensive and defensive was ratified 
by both parties. The olive-branch of peace was hailed 
with the utmost demonstrations of joy : but, alas ! 
scarcely was it gathered in triumph, when it was ob- 
served to droop and wither. Nipped by the wintry 
wind, its blossoms fell, and its tender stem was rudely 
snapt asunder ! 

Thucydid. lib. 2, 3, et 4. Diodor. lib. 12. Plut. in Vit. Nic. 



ESSAY XIV. 



PEACE OF NICIAS. 



205 



. REFLECTIONS. 

How much discipline is necessary to bring into sub- 
jection the pride of the human heart, whether it dis- 
cover itself in the conduct of nations, or in the cha- 
racter of individuals. It might have been concluded 
that the calamities which befel the Athenians, in the 
commencement of the war, would have been sufficient 
to correct the wantonness which continued prosperity 
had produced. When they had seen their country 
ravaged with fire and sword — their cities depopulated 
by pestilence and famine — their favourite leader, the 
stay of their country, suddenly cut off by contagious 
disease — it might have been expected that this high- 
minded people would have discovered a chastened and 
humbled temper, and that they would have been dis- 
posed to listen to the temperate and prudent advice of 
Nicias, rather than to the inflammatory harangues of 
a turbulent demagogue. But the event proved, that 
though depressed in circumstances, they were not 
humbled in spirit. They still retained the same im- 
perious disposition, uttered the same ** great swelling 
words of vanity," and indulged the same dreams of 
ambition. 

Nor is this character peculiar to the Athenians. 
Sacred History exhibits a more awful instance of ob- 
durate pride, in the character of Pharaoh, king of 
Egypt, who persisted in an infatuated course of dis- 
obedience to the Divine command, though ten succes- 
sive plagues desolated his empire, and threatened his 
destruction. The same inspired records inform us of 
a people — blest with the knowledge of the only living 
and true God — distinguished from all other nations 



206 



HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK II. 



by privileges and mercies — who remained unhumbled 
under the judgments of the Almighty, and sinned 
yet more and more" — a people who continue to this 
day a fearful example of unsubdued pride and impeni- 
tence, notwithstanding their scattered and desolate 
condition. Nor let us imagine that these Athenians, 
Egyptians, or Jews, were sinners above all that have 
lived on the earth. For the same obduracy, the same 
unconquerable pride characterizes man in his fallen 
state, and continues to manifest itself, though in va- 
rious forms, till a new heart is given to him, and a 
right spirit put within him. 

It is probable the Athenians gloried in this infa- 
tuated line of conduct, and pronounced it firmness. 
Ancient historians, we know, have described it in 
glowing terms of approbation. But would it not be 
as just and reasonable to celebrate the cool intrepi- 
dity of the maniac, who should sit down amidst the 
tottering fragments of an edifice which he had himself 
undermined, and hardily refuse to make his escape by 
an open door. 

A similar error is indulged in cases of far greater 
importance, because they involve the interests of the 
soul. The profligate pursues an abandoned course of 
hardened impiety, speedily involves himself in misery, 
is driven to desperation, and then applauds the intre- 
pidity with which he madly terminates his own exist- 
ence. The infidel closes his eyes against the brightest 
evidences of revealed truth, wildly laughs amidst the 
ruins of his demolished hopes, and then glories in the 
heroism, or rather hardihood, with which he plunges 
into the tremendous gulf. The apostate renounces 
the profession of religion he once made, runs to every 



ESSAY XIV. 



PEACE OF NICIAS. 



207 



excess of riot, brings upon himself swift destruction, 
and then is pronounced, by the associates of his 
crimes, an intrepid character, superior to all the fears 
and scruples of the timid and severe. The time v^ill 
come, v^^hen this boasted fortitude of the enemies of 
God will be put to the test ; and when the haughtiest 
of these sons of pride, the stoutest of these invincible 
heroes, will be covered " with shame and everlasting 
confusion." 



ESSAY XV. 

On the Renewal of the War, and disastrous Expedition 
of the Athenians to Sicily. 

A. C. 414. 

The alliance between Athens and Lacedaemon gave 
offence to the greater part of the remaining states of 
Greece, who considered it a formidable combination 
of those powerful republics against themselves. Co- 
rinth was the first to remonstrate against the treaty, 
by which, it was contended, the weak were left wholly 
at the mercy of the strong, and virtually deprived of 
their independence. The Argives entered so far into 
the views and feelings of the Corinthians, as to form 
a league for the protection of the liberties of Greece, 
and invited all the other republics to unite with them. 
In the mean time mutual jealousies revived between 
the ancient rivals, Athens and Lacedaemon, who ac- 
cused each other of having failed to perform the con- 
ditions of the late treaty. The Athenians had refused 
to surrender the island of Pylus, which they had taken 
during the war ; and the Spartans had entered into a 



208 HISTORY OP GREECE. BOOK II. 



separate alliance with the Boeotians, contrary to the 
late contract, in which it was stipulated, that no 
treaty should be made without the concurrence of 
both parties/' These grounds of complaint would 
easily have been removed, if Nicias had possessed un- 
limited powers, who was as sincerely desirous of pre- 
serving, as he had before been diligent in effecting, a 
reconciliation. But a youth of illustrious birth, of 
fascinating manners, of seductive and brilliant talents, 
then began to make a figure at Athens, and aspired 
to the direction of the republic. This youth was Alci- 
biades, the relative, and pupil, and exact counterpart 
of Pericles ; the intimate friend and beloved compa- 
nion of Socrates ; but it is necessary to add, the worst 
enemy of the Athenian state. An attempt will be 
made, in a subsequent essay, to form a correct esti- 
mate of the character, and take a cursory view of the 
principal events in the life, of this distinguished Athe- 
nian. At present, his name is only introduced as the 
principal cause of the renewal of hostilities between 
the Athenians and Spartans ; who, by his popular ad- 
dress and eloquent orations, defeated all the benevo- 
lent designs, and over- ruled all the wise counsels, of 
Nicias. He first prevailed on the Athenians to enter 
into the Argive alliance, and afterwards by a dis- 
honest artifice, outwitted the Lacedaemonian ambas- 
sadors, who came with full powers to settle differences 
and explain misunderstandings. Unable to rest till 
some object commensurate to his vast ambition, pre- 
sented itself, he procured his election to the chief 
command of the Athenian army, and prevailed upon 
his fellow-citizens to undertake the invasion and con- 
quest of Sicily. 



ESSAY XV. 



WAR IN SICILY. 



209 



When the question was debated in the Athenian 
senate and before the general assembly, it was stre- 
nuously opposed by Nicias, who used many arguments 
to prove the impolicy and hazard of the projected ex- 
pedition ; and concluded with warning the magistrates 
and elder citizens, against the wild ambition of Alci- 
biades and his youthful companions, whose measures, 
he predicted, would lead to the overthrow of the 
state. But ineffectual were his remonstrances and 
entreaties, when the youthful orator arose, and drew 
a flattering picture of the wealth of Sicily, the ease 
with which it might be subjugated, and the door it 
would open to further and more splendid conquests. 
Already he imagined Sicily and Carthage and Africa 
prostrate at the feet of Athens, or pouring their 
riches into her treasury. Dazzled with these brilliant 
prospects, the assembly decreed war with Sicily, and 
appointed Nicias, Alcibiades, and Lamachus, joint 
commanders of the expedition. Scarcely had Alci- 
biades arrived on that island, with the rest of the 
forces destined to this undertaking, when he was re- 
called to take his trial for alleged impieties and sa- 
crilege ; and the conduct of the Sicilian war devolved 
on Nicias, whose military talents had stood a long 
and severe test. He was at first successful, as he had 
hitherto always been, but the tide of success soon 
turned. The Syracusans were animated by the pre- 
sence, and aided by the talents, of Gylippus, a Lace- 
daemonian general, who had forced an entrance into 
the besieged city, at the head of a few Spartan 
troops. From the time of his arrival, the Athenian 
invaders met with nothing but a train of defeats and 
calamities. In one of the first engagements with the 



V 



210 HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK II. 

Syracusans, Lamachus was killed ; a brave and enter- 
prising general, whose loss, at such a crisis, was 
severely felt. Soon after, an epidemic disease, which 
spread through the Athenian camp, and with which 
Nicias himself was affected, committed fearful ravages. 
This malady, added to the harassing and destructive 
warfare in which he was engaged, obliged the Athe- 
nian general to write in the most pressing terms for 
immediate supplies. An attempt was made to retrieve 
their losses by a powerful reinforcement, under the 
command of Demosthenes and Eurymedon ; but the 
attempt was fruitless. Gylippus attacked them in 
separate bodies, and having reduced them to the most 
distressing extremities, compelled the several divi- 
sions of the Athenian army to surrender. Such was 
the fury of the Syracusans, that they doomed all the 
Athenian prisoners to labour in the quarries, or sold 
them as slaves, except the generals Nicias and Demos- 
thenes, who were put to the sword, notwithstanding 
the earnest endeavours of Gylippus to save their lives. 

One circumstance, that serves to enliven the gloom 
and diminish the horrors of this calamitous scene, is 
deserving of particular notice. The Sicilians were so 
enchanted with the tenderness and melody of the 
verses of Euripides, when recited by their Athenian 
captives, that they rewarded all, who were able to re- 
peat his most beautiful passages, with their liberty. 
These emancipated captives hastened back to Athens, 
and cast themselves at the feet of the venerable poet> 
and hailed him, with tears of joy, as their deliverer 
from dreary bondage and lingering death. 

Whilst the whole strength of Athens was applied to 
this ruinous enterprise, the Lacedaemonians were 



ES SAY XV. 



WAR IN SICILY. 



211 



chiefly occupied with watching the motions and check- 
i ng the progress of the Argives. Agis commanded 
the Lacedaemonian army, who met the allied forces of 
Argos and Corinth at Mantinea, and obtained a com- 
plete victory over the confederates. This memorable 
victory was soon followed by a peace between the 
Spartans and Argives, and a temporary change in the 
government of Argos. 

Thucyd. lib. 6 et 7. Plut. in Vit. Nic. et Alcib. Diodor. Sicul. 
lib. 13. Justin. lib. 4. 



REFLECTIONS. 

So do the brightest visions of hope, which frequently 
amuse and delight the youthful imagination, vanish 
away ! Thus do they often prove, like the fond dreams 
of Alcibiades respecting the conquest of Sicily, en- 
chanting but unreal prospects, ending in disappoint- 
ment and disgrace. In that sanguine period of life, 
the counsels of wisdom and experience are little re- 
garded ; the sober reality of truth is scarcely endured. 
Nothing is more unwelcome to the ear of youth than 
the remonstrances and warning of ages, though ma- 
nifestly dictated by prudence and knowledge ; yet 
nothing is more salutary. It had been well for Athens, 
and even for Alcibiades himself, if the cogent argu- 
ments of the amiable and pacific Nicias had produced 
their due effect on the general assembly of his coun- 
trymen ; and, if, instead of surrendering themselves to 
the fascinating eloquence of a wild ambitious youth, 
they had concluded that " days should speak, and 
multitude of years teach wisdom." 

A melancholy conviction of their error was, indeed, 
ultimately produced ; but not till their best generals 

p 2 



212 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK n. 



were slain ; their bravest troops were either cut off, or 
pined away in hopeless captivity ; and the visionary 
youth, who had led them astray, was seen amongst 
the ranks of their most inveterate enemies. If men 
refuse to listen to instruction, they must be taught by 
correction. If the counsels of wisdom, and that not 
merely human but divine wisdom, be despised, they 
can only expect to mourn at the last with unavailing 
regret their obduracy and fatal security. When the 
wages of transgression are received, and the cup of 
wormwood and gall is presented to the trembling sin- 
ner, he pours forth his late but fruitless lamentations, 
*' How have I hated instruction and my heart despised 
reproof, and have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, 
nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me." 
Prov. V. 12, 13. 

That the opinions of men, however wise and good, 
should be rejected and contemned, is comparatively a 
light thing ; but to close our ears against the most 
impressive warnings and tenderest solicitations of 
heavenly wisdom is, at once, highly criminal and 
dangerous. The former may sometimes be done with 
impunity, or, at most, can only involve in present 
sufferings; but the latter is fraught with eternal con- 
sequences, and cannot fail (if persisted in) to accom- 
plish our final ruin. Let the scoffer, who has often 
heard, and long continued to despise, the counsels of 
Jehovah, listen with fear and trembling to his certain 
doom, pronounced by the Spirit of Truth himself. 
"Because I have called, and ye refused; I have 
stretched out my hand, and no man regarded ; but ye 
have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of 
my reproof ! I also will laugh at your calamity ; I will 



ESSAY XV. 



WAR IN SICILY. 



213 



mock when your fear cometh ; when your fear cometh 
as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirl- 
wind ; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 
Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer ; 
they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me : 
For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the 
fear of the Lord : They would norie of my counsel ; 
they despised all my reproof." — Prov. i. 24 — 30. 

Yet, regardless of these admonitions, and in de- 
fiance of these "terrors of the Lord," how many 
seem to have formed the desperate resolution of en- 
gaging in the perilous enterprise — of persisting in the 
unequal and ruinous contest ! O that such infatuated 
characters would for a moment pause, and inquire 
" what will be in the end thereof! " Scarcely can the 
feeling mind endure the melancholy recital of the 
sufferings endured by the Athenian captives in Sicily, 
as they have been exquisitely described, and even 
painted from the life, by a contemporary historian. 
Yet, in their weeping and wailing and bitter lamenta- 
tions, when torn from all their endeared connexions, 
and doomed to perpetual bondage ; in the fixed despair 
that preyed upon their minds, and was legibly in- 
scribed on their^ haggard countenances ; in this affect- 
ing representation of their almost unequalled miseries, 
a faint emblem is afforded of the future condition of 
the enemies of God. It may feebly resemble, but can 
convey no adequate conception of, the irreparable dis- 
grace, the wretched captivity, the mental anguish, the 
dark and perpetual despair, that await the impenitent 
in the day of coming wrath. How much less shall 
their hearts endure, or their hands be strong, in that 
day, in which God shall deal with them!" 



214 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK If. 



ESSAY XVL 
On the Character and Life of Alcibiades. 

FLOURISHED A. C. 410. 

It was said of Alcibiades, by one of his biographers > 
that " nature seemed to have exerted herself to unite 
in him the most remarkable extremes of vice and 
virtue." This remark is, in part, corroborated and 
justified by the testimonies of all ancient writers, who 
have undertaken to portray the character of this 
celebrated but infamous Athenian. They agree in 
representing him as an extraordinary example of op- 
posite dispositions and qualities, combining those 
which were amiable and attractive with others which 
were hateful and disgusting, the honourable and illus- 
trious with the ignoble and base. Seldom has an 
individual appeared whose character formed of itself 
so complete a contrast. An haughty and imperious 
temper, which was impatient of restraint, and scorned 
to yield to a rival, was softened by a condescending 
and insinuating deportment ; the love of ease was so 
exactly balanced with the love of glory, pleasure with 
ambition, that both were alternately restrained and 
indulged : the most vicious and degrading habits were 
accompanied with such splendid qualities and seductive 
graces — were followed by so many noble and heroic 
deeds, that the severest moralists of the age could 
scarcely censure them, and the greater part of his fel- 
low-citizens were induced first to excuse, then to 
admire, and, finally, to imitate them. His dissolute 
practices, when reproved, were so ingenuously con- 



ESSAY XVI. 



ALCIBIADES. 



215 



fessed, with such apparent self-condemnation and 
contrition, as to secure to him the affections of those 
who despised and hated his excesses. Such a charac- 
ter must have been, of all others, the most injurious 
and dangerous to society. 

These gilded vices, and the poisonous charm of such 
an example, could not fail to lead to a general de- 
pravation of morals and licentiousness of manners. The 
Athenian youth had been vitiated and corrupted by 
the indulgence and policy rather than by the ex- 
ample of Pericles: but the work of destruction, which 
that ambitious statesman began, was vigorously prose- 
cuted and speedily finished by the profligate Alcibiades. 

Alcibiades was the son of Clinias, one of the weal- 
thiest citizens of Athens, who boasted of his descent 
from Ajax. His mother was nearly related to Pericles, 
to whose care she intrusted the education of the child 
of her hopes. His early youth was characterized by 
the same pliancy of disposition, the same versatility of 
character, the same irregularity of conduct, that at- 
tended him through life. He alternately astonished 
his preceptors by his docility, won their affections by 
his amiableness, and offended them by his excesses. 
When he was quite a youth, the celebrated Socrates 
fixed his eye upon him, and, encouraged by his many 
hopeful qualities, earnestly endeavoured to form him 
to virtuous habits. Often did that distinguished phi- 
losopher draw him from his accustomed haunts of 
criminal pleasure, by his affectionate remonstrances 
and urgent entreaties. For a moment, the young 
Athenian was moved by the persuasives of the guide 
of his youth, and would weep over his errors, and form 
resolutions of amendment ; but those tears were wiped 



• 



216 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



away as soon as shed — ^those purposes of reformation 
forgotten as soon as made. A memorable proof of 
the truly paternal affection of Socrates to Alcibiades 
was afforded at the battle of Potidaea. When the 
Athenian philosopher, who was scarcely less distin- 
guished as a warrior, saw his young friend in the 
midst of the engagement overpowered by numbers, 
disarmed, wounded, and his life threatened, he rushed 
forward, covered him with his shield, and carried him 
safely through the thickest ranks of the enemy. This 
generous action made a deep impression on the mind of 
Alcibiades, who regarded his brave defender through 
life with a kind of filial reverence. The flowing elo- 
quence, the sprightly wit, the logical acumen which 
Socrates evinced, both in his familiar discourses and 
public lectures, so delighted the son of Clinias, that 
he sought the society of that justly-celebrated philo- 
sopher, as often as he could tear himself from his 
profligate companions in vice. 

Vanity was the ruling passion in the breast of Alci- 
biades. This prompted him to make a display of his 
wealth and magnificence at the Olympic and other 
public games. It had been well for his country, and 
for Greece, if his consummate vanity had been satisfied 
with entering the lists, and carrying off the prizes at 
these public exercises, or with obtaining the admira- 
tion and plaudits of the multitudes who assembled 
on these occasions. But, unhappily, the same in- 
toxicating passion fired him with ambition, and sug- 
gested to his mind the wildest schemes of conquest. 
He flattered himself with the expectation of first ele- 
vating the Athenian republic to the highest pinnacle 
of glory, by his talents in council and in war ; and 



ESSAY XVI. ALCIBIADES. 217 

then laying her prostrate at his feet. The reader is 
ah'eady informed that by his artifices and eloquence, 
the Athenians were induced to break the peace of 
Nicias, to enter into the Argive alliance, and to em- 
bark in the calamitous Sicilian war. Here he flattered 
himself a wide field of glory stretched before him. 
Already, in his ardent imagination, he had conquered 
half the globe, when he was suddenly checked in the 
career of his ambition, by an unexpected mandate of 
his countrymen, who had so recently appointed him 
to the command of the Sicilian expedition, to return, 
and take his trial on the heinous charges of impiety and 
sacrilege. They who had suffered his most flagrant 
vices to pass uncensured, who had even pleaded many 
excuses for his licentious habits, were now incensed to 
the utmost against him, for having mutilated some 
statues of Mercury, and ironically represented, at a 
private entertainment, the awful mysteries of Eleusis ! 

Alcibiades was so well acquainted with the fickle- 
ness of the Athenian character, and so little prepared 
to encounter disgrace, that he contrived to escape from 
the persons sent to apprehend him, and fled to Sparta. 
He was soon informed that sentence of death had been 
pronounced against him at Athens. *' I will convince 
them," said he, *' that I am yet alive," and hastened 
totheEphori to concert, with that assembly, measures 
for the destruction of his country. To insinuate him- 
self more effectually into the favour and confidence of 
the Spartans, he conformed himself to their habits of 
self-denial and frugal simplicity. With the utmost 
ease he seems to have made a rapid transition, from 
the voluptuous gaiety of his former life, to the grave 
and austere manners of the descendants of Lycurgus. 



218 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



So long as Alcibiades influenced the councils of 
Lacedaemon, their affairs were prosperous, and the 
Athenians became more enfeebled. By his intrigues, 
an alliance was formed between the Spartan govern- 
ment and two of the wealthiest satraps of Persia, 
Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus ; an alliance which 
threatened the immediate annihilation of the republic 
of Athens. But just at this crisis, Agis, one of the 
kings of Lacedaemon, either jealous of the reputation 
of Alcibiades, or irritated by a private injury received 
from him, obliged him to retire to the court of Tissa- 
phernes. Here, with Protean pliancy, the Athenian 
threw off^ the rough Spartan garb, and assumed all the 
luxurious pomp and effeminate manners of the Persian 
nobility. He prevailed on the satrap to pursue a doubt- 
ful policy between the Spartans and Athenians, in 
order to inspire hope in both, without assisting either. 

When, however, the government of Athens was 
changed* from a democracy to the council of Four 
Hundred, and the disasters which had befallen the 
Athenians, induced them earnestly to solicit his re- 
turn, he appeared once more in the character of a 
patriot. Unanimously appointed to the command of 
the Athenian fleet, he gained several splendid victories ; 
retook the islands and cities which Sparta had wrested 
from his country ; almost annihilated the allied Spartan 
and Syracusan fleets ; and returned to Athens laden 
with the spoils of victory. He was received with the 
most unbounded expressions of gratitude and joy, by a 
people who had been suddenly raised from the deepest 
dejection to the most towering expectations. They 
poured their benedictions and gratulations upon him, 

* See Book II. Essay 17. 



ESSAY XVI. 



ALCIBIADES. 



219 



whom they had publicly denounced ; covered him with 
wreaths of laurel, and, in the extravagance of their 
zeal, laid the crown and sceptre at his feet. Grateful 
as this incense of flattery was to the triumphant con- 
queror, he deemed it prudent to decline the honours 
of royalty. 

Transient, however, was this gleam of popular fa- 
vour. The sun of his glory was soon to set in clouds 
and darkness. His next enterprise not having com- 
pletely answered the sanguine expectations of his 
countrymen, his enemies took advantage of the mo- 
ment of disappointment, and prevailed upon them to 
deprive him of the command. He retired, in disgust, 
to his possessions in the Thracian Chersonesus. Here 
he might have lived in secure and dignified retire- 
ment, if his ambitious spirit had suffered him to rest. 
But he involved himself, by new intrigues, in new 
difficulties and dangers. He placed himself in the 
power of Pharnabazus, who had been earnestly soli- 
cited by the Spartans to destroy, by force or fraud, 
this formidable enemy. A band of armed Phrygians 
was sent to the village in which he then resided with 
Timandra, his favourite courtesan, with orders to 
seize and put him to death. At midnight, they sur- 
rounded his house, and set it on fire ; and watching 
the moment in which he issued, sword in hand, from 
the midst of the flames, resolved to make a desperate 
defence, they aimed at him a shower of Persian darts, 
beneath which he fell and expired. The guilty com- 
panion of his retirement alone paid him funeral ho- 
nours, and wept over his ignominious grave. 

Plut. in Vit. Alcibiad. Corn. Nep. in id. Diodor. Sicul. lib. 13. 
Thucyd. lib. 8. Xenoph. Hist. Graec. lib. 1 ct 2. Justin, lib. 5. 



220 



HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK II. 



REFLECTIONS. 

Such was the melancholy, the disgraceful end of 
Alcibiades, once the envy and admiration of Greece — 
a youth of noble extraction, of superior talents, and 
of the most fascinating manners — who entered on his 
public career with the fairest prospects, and most flat- 
tering- hopes — whose magnificence had dazzled every 
eye, whose eloquence had charmed every ear, and 
whose splendid victories had frequently astonished the 
world. Yet this accomplished youth, was, in a few 
short years, reduced to the forlorn condition which 
has been just stated, by his own profligacy. It must 
be evident, to all who read his history, that he was his 
own worst enemy, and that his criminal excesses more 
speedily and effectually accomplished his ruin, than 
all the efforts of his Spartan or Athenian adversaries. 
His example addresses a salutary and impressive 
warning to the licentious and the gay. O ! that that 
warning might not be addressed to them in vain ! It 
admonishes the youthful votaries of sinful pleasures, 
that their libidinous pursuits will assuredly imbitter 
and shorten their days ; that they will blast their re- 
putation, destroy their bodies, and drown their souls 
in perdition ! that a few moments of criminal indul- 
gence will be followed, unless they repent and forsake 
their sins, with lingering years of ignominious suffer- ^ 
ing,and " a certain fearful looking for of judgment, 
and of fiery indignation." It addresses them in accents 
like these : " Flee youthful lusts, which war against 
the soul. Instead of desiring to spend your days in 
voluptuous ease, or criminal pleasures, follow after 
righteousness. Choose not as your associates, the 



ESSAY XVI. 



ALCIBIADES. 



221 



gay trifler, or the licentious profligate, but unite your- 
selves to those who call on the Lord out of a pure 
heart. Covet not the splendour, the luxurious ease, 
or the sensual gratifications of an Alcibiades, which 
can only be purchased at the price of remorse and 
guilt and infamy like his." 

The memorable example of Alcibiades, distinctly 
teaches us, that the vices of the great are to be con- 
sidered public injuries. This eminent Athenian did 
not perish alone, but, like another Samson, he pulled 
down the whole fabric of government, and buried both 
himself and his country beneath its ruins. The de- 
structive measures his wild ambition dictated, added 
to the baneful influence of his example, completed the 
work of desolation which Pericles had begun. In like 
manner, the princes, the nobles, and rulers of a land, 
may be considered as columns which support the social 
edifice ; if these pillars become so decayed and worm- 
eaten, as to crumble with a touch, it may not only be 
confidently predicted that they will sink beneath the 
pressure, but with equal confidence it may be antici- 
pated, that the whole structure will become a pile of 
ruins. The example of such exalted personages is 
contagious. If they become notorious for their pro- 
fligacy of manners, the national constitution is mate- 
rially affected by it. The whole head becomes sick 
and the whole heart faint." When the righteous 
judgments of God are poured forth on corrupt rulers, 
(as sooner or later they invariably are,) thousands of 
their subjects, and even the inhabitants of remote na- 
tions, are necessarily involved in the calamitous con- 
sequences of their guilt. 

There were some favourable moments in the life of 



222 HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK IT. 

Alcibiades, when his heart was comparatively tender, 
and when his own conscience seconded the reproofs of 
his faithful monitor. All these hopeful symptoms ap- 
peared in his early youth ; a period in which such con- 
victions are usually strongest. But how transient were 
those impressions ! How soon, " like the morning 
cloud and the early dew," did they pass away ! After- 
wards he grew bold in sin. The conscious blush, the 
starting tear were no longer visible. The scorpions of 
remorse, he must have felt, in the midst of all his 
guilty pleasures; but while they stung him to the 
heart, he assumed the smile of gaiety, and pretended 
to be happy. But the restlessness of his whole life 
demonstrated the falsehood of these pretensions, and 
proved him to be a stranger to inward peace. Boast 
not, ye wretched slaves of lust, of your liberty and en- 
joyment ! We can hear, at every step, the clanking of 
your chains, which ye but ill conceal. Beneath all 
your assumed vivacity, the characters of dissatisfac- 
tion, remorse, and fearful apprehension, are distinctly 
to be traced. After all, truth will inscribe upon your 
funeral urns, " their days were few and evil ; their 
end without honour, and without hope." 



ESSAY XVII. 

On the Capture of Athens by Lysander, and Conclusion 
of the Peloponnesian War. 

A.C.404. 

The disasters experienced by the Athenians in Sicily, 
and their more recent sufferings under the cruel ty- 



ESSAY XVII. 



LYSANDER. 



223 



ranny of the Four Hundred'^, were soon forgotten, 
when Alcibiades turned the tide of success in their 
favour, by a short but triumphant career of victory. 
But no sooner was that consummate general dismissed 
and exiled, than the state of the Athenian republic 
became more hopeless and desperate than ever. A 
few efforts, indeed, were made by the Athenians, 
which resembled the faint struggles of an expiring 
warrior ; but, from that time, it was evident to every 
observer, that the ancient and once flourishing re- 
public, which had alone withstood the legions of Per- 
sia, was at its last gasp. Two things accelerated 
this event, the divided counsels of the Athenians, and 
the renewed vigour of the Spartans. The former 
appointed no less than ten commanders, with equal 
powers, to succeed Alcibiades in the command of the 
fleet ; some of whom were men of approved valour 

* The tyranny of the Four Hundred was a temporary chang-e 
that took place in the government of Athens, ahout the time in 
which Alcibiades was recalled. It was effected, partly by the in- 
trig-ues of Alcibiades, who was adverse to the democracy, yet, with 
his usual inconsistency, was a principal agent in its re-establish- 
ment ; and partly by the enterprise of Pisander, the eloquence of 
Theramenes, the insidious treachery of Phrynicus, and the repu- 
tation of Antiphon, who possessed the unlimited confidence of his 
country. The conduct of this aristocracy was most sanguinary — 
their measures most oppressive — every day of their short reign was 
characterized by new atrocities ; every vestige of freedom was 
abolished ; and Athens was on the point of being- sold by her un- 
principled rulers, into the hands of the Spartans. But the citizens 
of Athens were not yet accustomed to the yoke. The army en- 
camped at Samos first resisted the tyranny of this faction. Thrasy- 
bulus was their leader, whose ardent patriotism inflamed their zeal 
for the liberation of their country, yet whose prudence restrained it 
within due bounds. The flame soon spread from the camp to the 
city. The usurpers were dethroned ; some paid the price of their 
former cruelties with their lives ; others escaped with difficulty ; and 
some submitted, on a promise of pardon. 



224 



HISTORY OP GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



and patriotism ; but others were either little known, 
or notorious only for their vices. These counteracted 
each other, and gave additional energy to the decided 
measures of Lysander, who had been recently ap- 
pointed to the command of the Spartan forces by land 
and sea ; a general of pre-eminent talents, but dis- 
graced by the most sordid avarice, and a total want 
of integrity. 

As Lysander acted so conspicuous a part in Greece 
at that time, and was the means of producing a fatal 
change in the character and laws of Sparta, it will not 
be improper to describe more particularly the principles 
on which he acted in his brilliant administration. 
Nothing could be more remote from genuine Spartan 
integrity than the political conduct of Lysander, through 
every step of his political life. His ruling passion was 
interest ; but the means of gratifying this insatiable 
desire were matters of perfect indifference to him. 
Justly or unjustly, by force or fraud, he was bent upon 
aggrandizing himself and enriching his country. He 
scrupled not to pursue this unworthy object by the 
adoption of measures the most perfidious and unjust. 
Not content with the spoils of war, and what are 
usually considered the legitimate fruits of conquest, 
he wrested with the hand of violence the property of 
the defenceless, or obtained, by craft and intrigue, 
those treasures which he was unable to seize by force. 
Now he was seen levying contributions on the Ionian 
cities and states with the assumed authority of an 
eastern despot ; and now most obsequiously soliciting 
pecuniary aid at the subordinate courts of Persian 
satraps, submitting tamely to their insults, and flatter- 
ing their vices, with the hope of securing their wealth. 



ESSAY xvn. 



LYSANDER. 



225 



Having succeeded beyond measure in his avaricious 
designs, he prevailed on the senate of Sparta, by- 
bribery and corrupt influence, to repeal those laws of 
Lycurgus, w^hich had forbidden the introduction of 
gold and silver coin into the republic ; and then poured 
a stream of ill-gotten wealth into his country, which 
soon enervated and destroyed it. The perfidiousness 
of his character may be gathered from the favourite 
maxim ascribed to him, and in which he gloried; 
*' Children," said he, "should be deceived with toys, 
but men by oaths." 

Such was the general character of the person who 
was chosen by the Spartans to prosecute the war in a 
season of public danger, and when more than ordinary 
vigour was necessary. Nor were they disappointed in 
the expectations they had indulged of his success, both 
in diplomatic and military affairs. His address in the 
former was proved by the ascendency he gained over 
the mind of Cyrus, viceroy of Sardis, and the 
subsidies obtained from that prince for carrying 
on the war. His skill in the latter was abundantly 
evinced, by the caution with which he manoeuvred in 
the presence of a fleet much more numerous than his 
own, so as to divide and weaken it by degrees ; and the 
wisdom with which he seized every opportunity of 
successful assault. After having, in the first year of 
his command, gained several victories both by sea and 
land, he was superseded by another general ; since, by 
the laws of Sparta, no commander, however success- 
ful he might have been, could retain his appointment 
longer than one year. Callicratidas, who succeeded 
him, was a genuine Spartan, not unworthy of the 
purest days of the republic, a perfect contrast to the 



i 



226 HISTORY OF GREECE, BOOK II. 

unprincipled and avaricious Lysander. Ignorant of 
the language and manners of a court, unaccustomed 
to flatter those whom he despised, and too indepen- 
dent to brook the insolence of wealth and pomp, Cal- 
licratidas soon found it was vain to solicit the Persian 
court for supplies, nor could he, like his predecessor, 
extort them from those who were in alliance with 
them. Counteracted in all his efforts by Lysander, 
who had unwillingly resigned the command to him, 
and cut off from all resources necessary to the prose- 
cution of the war, he found it necessary to risk an 
engagement with a very superior force. All that de- 
termined valour could accomplish was done by Calli- 
cratidas, before he received his mortal wound ; but 
after that event took place, the Athenians took and 
destroyed a great part of the Spartan fleet. The vic- 
tory they obtained was dearly purchased, but complete. 
Yet such was the base ingratitude of the Athenians to 
the conquerors, that they tried the ten commanders of 
the fleet on a charge of having neglected to pay funeral 
honours to the slain, eight of whom were condemned, 
and six executed ; none of the senate, except Socrates, 
having dared to oppose this unjust sentence. 

In consequence of the death of Callicratidas, the 
command of the Spartan forces was again intrusted 
to Lysander, who, soon afterwards, seized a favourable 
moment, when the greater part of the crews of the 
Athenian ships were on shore, to bring up his fleet, 
and, almost without resistance, take possession of the 
whole fleet of Athens, consisting of upwards of a 
hundred and fifty galleys. Five thousand prisoners 
were taken, all of whom were massacred by Lysander. 
The total annihilation of their fleet decided the fate of 



ESSAY XVII. CONCLUSION OF THE WAR. 227 

the Athenians. Their only remaining staff, oh which 
they had so frequently leaned in the hour of extreme 
debility, was now broken. Their last resource had 
failed them. There remained nothing to impede the 
victorious progress of Lysander, who boasted, with 
truth, that he had in one hour, and almost without 
bloodshed, terminated a war of twenty-seven years. 
After having occupied the few remaining cities and 
fortresses that still adhered to the Athenians, he 
besieged Athens both by sea and land. Its inha- 
bitants, unshaken by adversity, and gathering energy 
from despair, resolved to defend the city to the last 
extremity, and even passed a decree to punish those 
who should first propose to surrender. Famine and 
disease, the inevitable consequences of a protracted 
siege, at length prevailed, and compelled this high- 
minded people to negotiate with their ancient rival. 
The eloquent Theramenes, with nine others, were 
deputed as ambassadors to conduct the negotiation. 
The terms proposed by the Spartans, and to which 
the Athenians were ultimately obliged to accede, were 
most humiliating. The city was to be surrendered, 
and occupied by a Spartan garrison ; the walls and 
fortifications of the city and harbour to be demolished ; 
all their ships of war, except twelve galleys, to be 
given up ; and they were to enter into a league to serve 
the Lacedaemonians in all their military or naval expe- 
ditions, to the utmost of their power. No sooner was 
this treaty ratified, than Lysander entered Athens in 
triumph, and demolished the walls to the sound of 
martial music, which celebrated the deliverance of 
Greece from the tyranny of Athens. 
Thus terminated the Peloponnesian war, after a con- 

Q 2 



228 HISTORY OP GREECE. BOOK II. 

tinued and sanguinary struggle of twenty-seven years' 
continuance, which proved almost equally ruinous to 
both parties. During this contest, individual talents 
of the first order were displayed ; some instances of 
generosity and humanity appeared, that serve to en- 
liven the dreary scene; but the whole presents one 
sombre view of progressive corruption and accumu- 
lated misery. 

Plut. inVit. Lysand. Thucyd. lib. 8. Diodor. Sicul. lib. 13. 
Xenoph. Grsec. Hist. lib. 2. 

M 

REFLECTIONS. 

The short and turbulent reign of the four hundred 
Athenian tyrants, (for such they were most properly 
called,) reads a most instructive lesson to all persons 
in authority, who may attempt to establish themselves 
by violence and blood. Their arbitrary measures may 
appear to succeed — the multitude may be overawed 
and intimidated into reluctant subjection — not a 
whisper of disapprobation or complaint may be heard 
— ^their enslaved subjects may seem to be completely 
broken in — ^but they will assuredly find that the most 
vigorous government is unstable, if that government 
be founded in usurpation, upheld by injustice, or un- 
dermined by cruelty. They will find themselves on 
the margin of a precipice, from which the touch of an 
infant may hurl them headlong — suspended over an 
abyss, into which the gentlest breeze of heaven may 
plunge them in a moment. The throne of princes 
is established by righteousness, but oppression makes 
even wise men mad." 



ESSAY XVII. 



LYSANDER. 



22-9 



The character of Lysander is one of the most odious 
and base recorded in history, yet his whole course was 
prosperous ; his administration was deemed the most 
brilliant aera in the annals of Sparta. This proud 
oppressor — ^this flattering courtier — ^this crafty and 
unprincipled statesman, who, according to his own 
proverb, eked out the lion's skin with the fox's 
tail " — gained all that his ambition and avarice could 
desire ; while the generous, the brave, the patriotic, 
the noble Callicratidas died without honour in his 
first engagement. So inscrutable are the ways of Di- 
vine Providence ! So have the most wicked been fre- 
quently seen " in great power, spreading themselves 
like a green bay-tree." So have the faint blossoms of 
virtue fallen prematurely to the ground, nipped by 
some wintry blast of adversity ! 

Lysander possessed no ordinary share of the wisdom 
of this world. He well knew how, by timely flattery 
and political intrigue, to insinuate himself into the 
confidence and friendship of those who were necessary 
to the success of his schemes. Restrained by no moral 
principle, checked by no scruples of conscience, he 
could pursue the one object of his ambition through 
any track which presented itself, however perfidious, 
unjust, or base. That such worldly wisdom should 
tend to promote his worldly interests was natural, and 
sufficiently accounts for the success of Lysander. — 
The same principle will account for the present pros- 
perity of the wicked, and their sudden elevation to 
power. They can pursue their temporal interests by 
the most indirect means, from which a conscientious 
and upright character would shrink with abhorrence. 
Unchecked by conscience, or the fear of God, they 



230 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



can devote all their time and talents to the service 
of the world ; they can bend all the energies of body 
and mind to the various objects of their avarice and 
ambition ; they can live as those who fear not God, 
neither regard man. Nor is it improbable that they 
may have their reward. For a time they may prosper 
in their way, and bring their wicked devices to pass, 
but " they are set in slippery places, they are suddenly 
cast down to destruction." 

The remarks which were applied in a former essay 
to the age of Pericles, may, with equal truth, be ap- 
plied to that of Lysander. It would have appeared to 
a cursory observer, that the conquests of that general 

^ were eminently beneficial to his country; that the 
wealth he poured into her public treasury, and which 
flowed in a copious stream through the land, was a 
public blessing ; and that after all the losses sustained 
in the Peloponnesian war, it was a seasonable and 
valuable supply. But all ancient writers agree in 
ascribing the decline and fall of Sparta to the con- 
quests of Lysander, and the luxuries he introduced. 

. From that time, avarice, a passion scarcely known in 
Laconia before, poisoned the fountain of government, 
and every stream of society was vitiated by it. It was 
no longer disgraceful to court the favour of haughty 
satraps, and to barter away their liberty and inde- 
pendence for eastern gold. " The love of money," 
a sacred writer has assured us, "is the root of 
all evil;" a truth which the subsequent history of 
Lacedaemon, and, indeed, that of mankind in general, 
abundantly confirms. 



ESSAY XVIII. 



PHILOSOPHERS. 



231 



ESSAY XVIII. 

On the principal Philosophers of Greece^ who flourished 
during the Persian and Peloponnesian War. 

A TIME of public tranquillity is much more fa- 
vourable to the advancement of genuine philosophy 
than the turbulent period of foreign or domestic vv^ar. 
When the minds of men in every class of society are 
1^ perpetually agitated with occurrences that involve 
their safety, their liberty, or their lives, they have 
little leisure and less inclination to retire within them- 
selves, and investigate, with cahTi and diligent re- 
search, the sources of human knowledge, or to traverse 
the different regions of abstract science. This will 
sufficiently account for the paucity, and comparative 
obscurity of the Philosophers of Greece, who silently 
moved in their little spheres during the period above- 
mentioned. With a few illustrious exceptions, the 
greater part of these were scarcely known b^eyond 
their own schools. Amidst the splendid victories or 
the terrible disasters of almost everyday, they could 
scarcely hope to interest the public mind in their 
metaphysical subtleties. As little was it to be ex- 
pected that the historians, who undertook to transmit 
to posterity the astonishing incidents of that eventful 
age, would step aside to portray the characters, or 
explain the varying systems of such retired indivi- 
duals. From the imperfect records which time has 
spared us, it is proposed to furnish the reader with a 
brief sketch of the most celebrated of these, arranged 
according to the sects or schools to which they re- 
spectively belonged. 



232 



HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK II. 



It will be remembered, that in reviewing the earliest 
period of Grecian Philosophy*, the Ionian and the 
Italian schools were mentioned ; the former founded 
by Thales the Milesian, and the latter by Pythagoras. 
To these we must now add a third, which grew out of 
the Pythagorean sect, and chiefly owed its origin to 
Xenophanes. This was called the Elean school, be- 
cause several of its brightest ornaments were natives 
of Elea. 

Of the Ionian school, the principal masters who 
lived in the fifth century before Christ, were Anaxa- 
goras, Archelaus, and Socrates. Anaxagoras, a na- 
tive of Clazomenae, first taught philosophy in Athens. 
He was preceptor to Pericles, who highly valued his 
instructions, though he practically disregarded them. 
He first distinctly announced to the heathen world 
the existence of an intelligent and eternal Mind, that 
created and pervades all things. This doctrine was 
so opposed to the popular superstitions of the age, 
that it raised up a host of enemies who did not rest 
till they had banished him from the city. Though he 
was justly considered the most religious of all the 
Greek Philosophers, he was accused of impiety and 
irreligion, for presuming to teach his disciples that 
the moon is a globe of earth like our own, and obliged 
to flee for his life. His writings principally treat of 
the formation of the universe, the essence of matter 
and spirit, and the elements of geometry and astro" 
nomy. Archelaus was one of his disciples, whose 
distinguished honour it was to be the preceptor of c 
Socrates. If the eminence of a tutor can, with any 
degree of justice, be inferred from the high and early 
* See Book I. Essay 12. 



ESSAY XVIII. 



PHILOSOPHERS. 



233 



attainments of his pupil, Archelaus must have held no 
ordinary rank among the scholars of that age. As an 
occasion will be hereafter taken, to narrate the prin- 
cipal incidents in the public and private life of So- 
crates, it will only be necessary here to refer to him, 
as the first of heathen philosophers. He deserves to 
be thus designated, because he did more than any 
other, to liberate the youth whom he instructed, from 
the subtle and sceptical notions that had generally 
prevailed, and impress upon their minds the important 
truths of a superintending Providence and the immor- 
tality of the soul ; because he directed his lectures to 
useful purposes rather than barren speculations ; and 
instead of imitating his predecessors in bewildering 
his disciples amongst the mazes of metaphysical so- 
phistry, he taught them the happiness of virtue and 
the miseries of vice ; the personal, relative and social 
duties of life. These important instructions he deli- 
vered in a familiar manner, in every place of public 
' resort, as well as in those hours which were devoted 
to friendship and conviviality. All contemporary 
writers agree in testifying, that he illustrated his pre- 
cepts by his example. 
4111 The Italic or Pythagorean sect were chiefly in- 
debted during this period to the celebrity and talents 
of Empedocles of Agrigentum ; who was so much be- 
loved by his fellow-citizens, that they offered him 
with one consent a crown and sceptre ; but he pre- 
ferred the humbler, though not less useful, station of 
a legislator. His laws rendered his country illus- 
trious, and were a lasting memorial of his wisdom. 
He was chiefly remarkable for combining the beauties 
of poetry, in which he excelled, with the most ab- 



234 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



stract philosophical research. Some of his poems, 
(and especially that entitled "Nature,") are said to 
have abounded with beauties of composition scarcely 
inferior to those of Homer, even though they treat of 
the most abstruse subjects. An incidental proof of 
the estimation in which his writings were held, may 
be drawn from his having publicly recited parts of 
them with great applause at the Olympic games. He 
carried the absurd notion of transmigration still fur- 
ther than the founder of his sect, and used most 
gravely to inform his pupils, that he had himself ap- 
peared successively in the forms of a young man, a 
maiden, a plant, a bird, and a fish ; that he had, in 
some of these characters, been precipitated into the 
sea, hurled upon the dry land, scorched by the sun, or 
driven along by vortices of air ! Yet this was one of 
the most distinguished philosophers of Greece ! One 
of his sayings, which has been preserved, affords a 
much more decisive evidence of his wisdom. When 
reproving the Agrigentines for their luxury and vice, 
he said, " You eagerly pursue pleasures, as if you 
were to die to-morrow ; and you build houses, as if 
you were to live for ever." Of the same school of 
philosophy were Epicharmus of Sicily, Ocellus of Lu- 
cania, and Timagus of Locris, with several others of 
less note. 

The Elean school included a considerable number 
of distinguished individuals, at the head of whom 
were Xenophanes its founder, Parmenides, Zeno, De- 
mocritus, and Protagoras. 

The former of these was born at Colophon in Ionia. 
He was exiled from his country at an early period of 
life, and for many years depended upon the recitation 



ESSAY XVIII. PHILOSOPHERS. 235 

of his verses for a precarious subsistence. He was a 
most subtle reasoner, skilful in that mode of dispu- 
tation v^hich ancient and modern writers have agreed 
to term sophistical ; on which account his sect has 
been frequently called that of the Sophists. Parme- 
nides was the most eminent of his disciples. He be- 
longed to one of the most ancient and opulent families 
of Elea. In the earlier part of life he chiefly attended 
to political concerns, took a considerable part in the 
administration of the state, and bestowed on his coun- 
try an excellent code of laws. But in more advanced 
age, he retired wholly from public life, and devoted 
himself to the study of philosophy. According to the 
frequent practice of that age, his philosophical writ- 
ings were for the most part written in verse. — Zeno 
was also a native of Elea, and a disciple of Parme- 
nides. He was a complete sophist, delighted in the 
pursuit of the most doubtful speculations, and dis- 
playing what has been fitly termed " the licentious- 
ness, rather than the art, of reasoning." He possessed 
a highly-susceptible mind, and was animated by a 
fervent love of liberty. This led him to take part in 
a conspiracy against the tyrant of Elea, who exer- 
cised, with sanguinary violence, the authority he had 
usurped over a free city. The jealous despot appre- 
hended him, and after having attempted in vain to 
extort from him a confession of his accomplices, put 
him to death. — Democritus was born at Abdera in 
Thrace, and holds a distinguished rank among the 
Grecian Philosophers of that day. He gave up the 
greater part of his splendid patrimony to his younger 
brother, and in imitation of Pythagoras, travelled into 
foreign climes, wherever men of science resided, or 



236 HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK II. 

schools of philosophy were established. After his re- 
turn, he applied himself with the utmost diligence to 
philosophical researches. His writings embraced a 
great variety of subjects, they related to medicine, ana- 
tomy, agriculture, logic, geometry, astronomy, geogra- 
phy, music, and poetry, besides the higher departments 
of physical and ethical philosophy. His system was in 
part borrowed from that of Zeno, and in part from 
Leucippus, under whom he studied in his youth. He 
died in peace and honour at Abdera, esteemed and 
admired by his fellow-citizens, who had long received 
the benefit of his instructions. One of these became 
a more renowned sophist than his master. — ^Prota- 
goras was discovered by Democritus in extreme po- 
verty, and in a servile condition. His genius was 
bought to light, and his mind cultivated, by the pa- 
tronage of his preceptor. He afterwards removed to 
Athens, and founded the most flourishing school of 
the sophists in that city. After having attracted many 
of the noblest youths in Attica to his public lectures, 
he was accused to the court of Areopagus of atheism, 
and banished the republic. His works were called in 
by order of the Archons, and publicly burnt. 

The preceding- facts may be found in a scattered form in the 
writings of Diog-enes Laertius, Aristotle, Plutarch, Plato, and 
Cicero. 



REFLECTIONS. 

The individuals, whose names have been mentioned, 
were men of acknowledged talents, but to how little 
purpose were those talents employed ! They spent 
their lives in the most laborious investigations and 



ESSAY XVIII. PHILOSOPHERS. 



237 



researches, but how fruitless were those labours and 
studies 1 They perplexed both themselves and their 
pupils with theories and speculations the most vi- 
sionary and obscure, and seemed to aim more at dis- 
playing their own ingenuity, than advancing the pro- 
gress of useful knowledge. That their various sys- 
tems tended to shake the faith of their scholars in the 
popular superstitions of the times is most certain ; 
but it is also certain, that many of them did this, by 
the destructive weapons of universal scepticism, and 
atheistical impiety. 

Such was the result of the learning and wisdom of 
Greece during a century, and that, too, the most im- 
portant and flourishing period of her history. Many 
ingenious systems were devised and taught — many 
prodigious efibrts of mind were displayed — but did 
either they who taught, or they w^ho were instructed, 
approach nearer to the truth ? Were not the wisest of 
these boasted philosophers grossly ignorant of the 
unity and spirituality of Jehovah, of his exalted attri- 
butes, and of his spiritual worship ? If any amongst 
them had derived from tradition, or by the light of 
nature had indistinctly discerned, some traces of these 
deeply-interesting truths, how darkly were they inti- 
mated, how corruptly taught, with how much absurd 
conjecture and cunningly devised fable were they min- 
gled, so as effectually to exclude the entrance of light 
to the mind. It vs^as manifestly " the blind leading 
the blind" — the ignorance of fruitless speculation, 
occupying the place of the ignorance of popular delu- 
sion. Yet such is the aversion of mankind to the 
truth, that in proportion as any of these taught a 
purer morality than that which commonly prevailed, 



238 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



they were objects of persecution. The most indirect 
and cautious attempt to correct popular errors, and 
inculcate more just and rational principles, was sure 
to incense the superstitious multitude against the ad- 
venturous individuals who propagated such new and 
strange doctrines. They were driven from city to 
city ; they suffered the loss of all things ; and some 
of them were most unjustly condemned to death. If 
the enmity of a depraved heart manifested itself thus 
openly against the purest of the heathen moralists, is 
it surprising that it should have been more highly ex- 
cited by the sublimer doctrines and more holy pre- 
cepts, inculcated by our Saviour and his Apostles ? 
that when the self-denying principles of the Gospel 
were taught by our Lord to the Jewish multitude, 
they should conspire together to put him to death ; 
that when the disciples traversed Asia and Greece, 
preaching in every city, Jesus and the resurrection," 
they should be subjected to ignominious sufferings, 
and cruel punishments ; or that when the zealous 
Apostle to the Gentiles published at Athens the Chris- 
tian faith, he should be summoned before the su- 
preme court of Areopagus, and encounter there the 
ridicule and hatred of its distinguished members? 
Nor can we wonder that the primitive preachers of 
Christianity should have met with the most decided 
opposition from all the various sects of philosophers, 
from the licentious disciples of Epicurus, to the 
austere and rigid order of the Stoics. 

What an humiliating view of the utmost efforts of 
human wisdom do the absurd notions of the Pytha- 
gorean school afford ! Who could have listened to the 
t fantastic representations of Empedocles, on the sub- 



ESSAY XVIII. PHILOSOPHERS. 



239 



ject of a previous or future mode of existence, the 
wild enthusiasm that characterized his harangues on 
the favourite hypothesis of transmigration, without 
deploring the moral darkness that covers the human 
mind, until enlightened by wisdom from above, and 
confessing that the representation of the Apostle is 
confirmed by the whole history of heathen philosophy, 
''Having the understanding darkened, being alienated 
from the life of God through the ignorance that is in 
them, because of the blindness of their heart." — 
Thanks be to God, a brighter day has dawned ; we 
are not directed to the schools of Zeno or Socrates in 
our search for Truth ; we have access to the sacred 
source itself — the overflowing and uncorrupted foun- 
tain of light and wisdom. To the divine law and tes- 
timony we may make our appeal, as to an infallible 
guide. To Jesus himself we may continually repair, 
who is emphatically styled, the way, the truth, and 
the life." 



ESSAY XIX. 

On the Poets who flourished in Greece during the 
Persian and Peloponnesian War. 

In Greece, as in most other civilized countries, the 
number of versifiers was great, but that of genuine 
poets very few. It would be easy to collect from the 
scroll of antiquity, a great variety of names of those, 
who were considered poets in their day, whose com- 
positions obtained a transient and doubtful reputa- 
tion, but whose fame, together with their productions, 
have long since been ingulphed in merited oblivion 
Instead of engaging in this useless task, it is proposed 



240 HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK 11. 



to glance at the life and writings of those, who not 
only excelled in the different kinds of poetical compo- 
sition during the fifth century, before the Christian 
aera, but whose honours have not yet withered, after 
the lapse of nearly twenty-four centuries. 

Toward the beginning of the above-mentioned pe- 
riod, SiMONiDEs, of Ceos, flourished. He combined 
philosophy with poetry, and was so eminent in both, 
that he might, with almost equal propriety, be classed 
with the philosophers, as with the poets of that age. 
Some valuable relics of his moral and philosophical 
instructions have been preserved, which are sufficient 
to prove his claim to be numbered with the sages of 
Greece. Two anecdotes, which are recorded respect- 
ing him, deserve particular remembrance. When Pau- ^ 
sanias requested of the philosophical poet some ge- 
neral and comprehensive maxim, which would be use- 
ful to him through life, he replied, Remember that 
you are man ;" a maxim which was probably sug- 
gested by the knowledge he possessed of the real cha- 
racter of Pau sanias, and which would have preserved 
that unhappy prince from disgrace and ruin, had he 
duly regarded it. When, on another occasion, Hiero, 
king of Syracuse, addressed to Simonides the import- 
ant question, " What is God," he first requested a 
a day to deliberate upon it, then two days, and after 
having frequently redoubled the time demanded, re- 
turned to the monarch this memorable reply : " The 
more I think on the subject, the more I am lost in the 
boundless depths of the divine nature and perfections." 

Simonides lived on terms of intimate friendship with 
the greatest men of his age. He was patronised, ca- 
ressed, and honc^ured by Hipparchus, the amiable but 



ESSAY XIX. 



POETS. 



241 



unhappy son of Pisistratus — by Pausanias, one of the 
kings of Sparta, and the conqueror at Plataea^ — ^by 
Themistocles, the first of the Athenian generals, both 
in talents and success — ^by Alevas, king of Thessaly, 
and Hiero, king of Syracuse, both of whom were li- 
beral patrons of genius and learning. His versatile 
genius employed itself in almost every species of 
poetry ; but that in which he excelled, and to which he 
owes his fame, was elegiac verse. He wrote elegies on 
the four memorable battles between the Greeks and 
Persians, at Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis, and 
Plataea ; which were composed in such a strain of 
plaintive tenderness, as to move the most insensible 
breasts, whenever he touched the thrilling chords of 
pity or sorrow. He was such a master of the passions, 
that subsequent writers, both Greek and Latin, have 
compared what is usually touching and impressive, to 
" the tears of Simonides," or, ** the lamentations of 
the Cean poet." 

Yet this exquisitely tender, this philosophical, this 
frequently devotional poet was degraded by one reign- 
ing vice. All historians charge him with extreme co- 
vetousness. His muse was notoriously venal. He 
indirectly admitted the accusation, by pleading, in jus- 
tification of his avarice, that he had rather enrich 
his enemies by his death, than be constrained to so- 
licit the assistance of his friends, while living." He is 
supposed to have lived to a great age, and died in 
Sicily, at the court of Hiero, his illustrious patron and 
friend, once the tyrant, but afterwards the benevolent 
monarch, of that island. A few fragments only remain 
of the numerous elegies and other poems, which are 

R 



242 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



occasionally alluded to by ancient writers, as composed 
by him, and universally admired. 

The most distinguished son of the Muses who flou- 
rished in that age was the inimitable Pindar, for such 
he has been justly pronounced by Horace, his successor 
in lyric fame*. A considerable number of his odes 
remain as monuments of his unrivalled talents. The 
subjects of these sublime effusions are either the 
praises of the conquerors at the public games, or of 
the deities to whom those festivals were dedicated. 
Yet on these apparently uniform and barren topics, 
the Theban poet has ingrafted a rich abundance of 
moral sentiments, and even of religious maxims, as far 
as religion was then understood. Such were the pro- 
digious stores of intellectual wealth with which he was 
endowed, that he could enrich the meanest subject, 
and give a new character of dignity and glory to that 
which in itself was contemptible and base. Fired by 
the example of heroism, which the eventful times, in 
which he lived, had produced, and especially by the 
enthusiasm of his own elevated mind, he soared above 
all ordinary limits — took the boldest and the loftiest 
flights— nor rested till his ardent muse had climbed 
the heights of Parnassus. Unlike the greater number 
of his fraternity, he received the highest honours from 
the princes and states of Greece, to the end of life. 
There were, indeed, some transient clouds that occa- 
sionally obscured his fame. His countrymen, the 

* Pindarum quisquis studet semulari, 
Jule, ceratis ope Dsedalea 
Nititur pennis, vitreo daturus 

Nomina ponto. Hor. Carm. lib. 4. od. 8. 



ESSAV XIX. 



POETS. 



243 



Thebans, resented his commendation of their enemies, 
the Athenians, by imposing upon him a heavy fine. 
The judges appointed to award the prize of poetry, 
five times adjudged the palm to Corinna, a fair poetess 
of Boeotia, of considerable merit, but, certainly, far 
inferior to the Theban bard. Corinna herself acknow^- 
ledged the injustice of the decision, and bore ample 
testimony to the superiority of his genius. In return 
for this generous concession, Pindar conferred on her 
the highest honour, by consulting his fair rival on the 
subject and execution of his odes, and requesting her 
criticisms on all occasions. He died at Thebes, in 
peace and honour, in the 65th year of his age. 

About the same time, a new order ©f poets arose, who 
occupied so fully the public mind, that the dignity of 
Homer, the simplicity of Hesiod, the sublimity of Pin- 
dar, were, for a time, alike forgotten. These were 
the dramatic poets, of whom iEschylus, Sophocles, 
and Euripides, were the most celebrated in tragedy, 
and Aristophanes in comedy. Some of these elevated 
the drama from the low and imperfect state in which 
it had remained for ages, to a degree of eminence and 
perfection which has never been surpassed. 

iEscHYLUs, the tragedian, was first signalized by 
his conduct and valour in the Persian war. The scenes 
through which he had passed, in the course of that 
memorable contest, had made a deep impression on his 
susceptible mind, and supplied his fancy with a thou- 
sand images of terror or distress. The affecting inci- 
dents of that calamitous age had been variously com- 
bined by his vigorous imagination, and furnished him 
with ample materials for his most affecting scenic 



244 



HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK II. 



representations. Before the time of iEschylus, the 
drama was in its rudest state. One actor alone ap- 
peared on the stage, and recited the artless narrative, 
which was interspersed with bacchanalian songs by 
the chorus. But this father of tragedy effected a total 
change in the mode of exhibition, and completely new 
modelled the Grecian drama. His style was nervous, 
but not highly polished ; his images bold, but occa- 
sionally extravagant and unnatural ; his sentiments, 
for the most part, favourable to virtue, as far as the :S 
boundaries of moral good and evil were then defined. 
For several years, he retained the undisputed sove- 
reignty of the stage, but was, at length, defeated in a 
public contest at the Olympic games, in consequence 
of which, he retired in disgust to Sicily, where he 
ended his days. 

Sophocles was the successful antagonist, who car- 
ried off the palm from .^Eschylus, in the twenty-eighth 
year of his age. He first applied himself to lyric poetry, 
and, on several interesting occasions, enchanted the 
Athenians with the songs of victory he had composed, 
accompanied with the music of his lyre. But he soon 
turned his attention to dramatic poetry, to which all 
the remaining days of an unusually protract edlife were 
devoted. The same amiableness of temper and refined 
delicacy of feeling, which attracted around him so 
many distinguished friends, formed the principal charm 
of his poems. The characteristics of his style were 
softness and sweetness, tenderness and elegant refine- 
ment. His reputation was not, however, confined to 
the Grecian theatre. He filled many important sta- 
tions, both civil and military, in the Athenian repub- 



ESSAY XIX. 



POETS. 



245 



lie. He was, on one occasion, associated with Pe- 
ricles in the command of an army. He died at Athens 
at the advanced age of ninety-one. 

Euripides, when quite a youth, and while yet un- 
der the tuition of Anaxagoras, contended successfully 
with Sophocles for the prize of tragedy. He was born 
at Salamis, during the time that the island was occu- 
pied by the expatriated Athenians, but received his 
education in Athens. His studious and even severe 
habits would have led him to pursue the walks of phi- 
losophy, had it not happened, that the unsettled state 
of the republic occasioned the exile of the most emi- 
nent masters, and exposed all who adhered to them to 
imminent dangers. He deemed it, therefore, more 
prudent to yield to the current of public opinion, and 
devote his talents to the improvement of the Grecian 
drama. Though far behind his competitor in the 
graces and beauties of composition, he excelled him 
in a conscientious regard to morality, both in his life 
and writings. The latter abound with sentiments 
not unworthy of a Christian moralist, and in which it 
had been well, if modern dramatists had more closely 
imitated him. On account of his strict adherence to 
virtuous principles, and the severity with which he 
censured the prevailing vices of the age, his pieces 
were usually sanctioned by the attendance of Socrates. 
Towards the close of life, he retired from the tu- 
mults which raged in Athens, to the court of Arche- 
laus, king of Macedon ; where he found many dis- 
tinguished scholars, who, like himself, preferred to 
pursue their literary occupations amidst more tranquil 
scenes. After his death, the Athenians sent deputies 
to Archelaus to solicit his body, that they might inter 



246 



HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK II. 



it with funeral honours ; but that monarch could not 
be induced to part with the remains of the poet, whom 
he had highly honoured in life, and whose death he 
sincerely lamented. 

The comedians of that age were far more popular 
than the tragedians, because their impure wit and li- 
centious raillery were more calculated to gratify the 
vicious propensities of the multitude. For this reason, 
it is by no means to be regretted, that the mass of 
their writings have perished. The fragments which 
have been transmitted to posterity, afford melancholy 
proof of the depraved state of public morals in Athens, 
when the infamous Aristophanes was permitted to 
pour contempt on the most wise and virtuous and pa- 
triotic citizens, with impunity, One of his severest 
satires was pointed at Socrates, and is supposed to 
have prepared the public mind for the trial and con- 
demnation of that celebrated philosopher. 

Collected from the writing's of Suidas, Strabo, Pausanias, Dio- 
dorus Siculus, Aristotle, Cicero, Sfc, S^c. 



REFLECTIONS. . 

** Who can, by searching, find out God, who ca^ 
find out the Almighty to perfection ? " What wonder # 
that an heathen sage, who possessed no other means 
of knowledge than those which nature afforded, found 
himself lost in the immensity of the divine nature ; 
since those who have been blest with light from heaven 
• — those whom the day-spring from on high has visited 
- — and even those who dwell in the immediate pre- 
sence of the Great Jehovah, are constrained to ac- 
knowledge, with the inspired Psalmist, " Such know- 



ESSAY XIX. 



POETS. 



247 



ledge is too wonderful for me, it is high, I cannot 
attain unto it!" There is, however, a branch of 
knowledge that is within our reach, and which it is 
of the utmost practical importance that we diligently 
pursue — the knowledge of ourselves. Let us not be 
reluctant to receive this valuable maxim from the 
mouth of an heathen poet, " Remember that ye are 
men." The habitual recollection of our frailty and 
mortality, the consideration of our weakness and de- 
pendance, but above all, the conviction of our ex- 
ceeding sinfulness," were it deeply impressed on our 
minds, could not fail to abase the pride of our hearts, 
and preserve us from thinking more highly of our- 
selves than we ought." 

Whoever has attentively surveyed the remaining 
monuments of Grecian poetry, under the influence of 
Christian principles, must have been conscious of 
mixed emotions of admiration and regret — admiration, 
excited by the talents they display — and regret, that 
those talents were not better employed. More espe- 
cially whilst perusing with delight the sublime effu- 
sions of the Theban bard, the thought must have fre- 
quently occurred — if so pure and dignified are the 
sentiments, so brilliant the images, so elevated the 
language of the poet, when merely describing the con- 
tests at the Olympic games, and panegyrizing the 
victors in the horse or chariot races at those public 
festivals, what would have been the noble enthusiasm 
of his soul, what the lofty and seraphic strains of his 
muse, had he sung of the glorious attributes of the 
eternal Jehovah, or the unsearchable riches of the 
love of Christ ! " Ah ! could we but meet with such a 
hallowed genius — one upon whom the poetic mantle of 



248 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II 



Pindar seems to have descended, yet who is willing to 
consecrate all the energies of his soul to the Redeemer 
— one whose bosom glows with an equal enthusiasm, 
while celebrating the immortal honours, the splendid 
triumphs of Immanuel ! 

But, unhappily, the sons of the Muses, in more 
modern times, have been too frequently content to 
tread in the beaten track of their heathen ancestors, 
whilst the boundless, the enchanting regions of Inspi- 
i ration lay before them. They have exhausted the 
resources of their genius, and expended all their in- 
tellectual strength, either in laborious triflings, or in 
unhallowed attempts to render vice enchanting. They 
have amused themselves, and their numerous admirers, 
with legendary tales, with fabulous traditions, with 
the wildest dreams of fancy, and even, in some in- 
stances, with immoral, anti-christiaii, or atheistical 
effusions. In former ages of superstition, when 
** darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the 
people," these abuses of the noblest intellectual facul- 
ties might be excused in some degree, though by no 
means justified ; but, surely, better things might be 
expected from poets under a Christian dispensation. 

Without entering into the general questions of the 
lawfulness and expediency of theatrical amusements, 
or of the moral influence of dramatic representations, 
it may be remarked, that Solon, one of the wisest and 
most virtuous of the heathen world, viewed, with 
alarm, the increasing attachment of the Athenians to 
these exhibitions. His penetrating mind discovered in 
them the germ of those corruptions which afterwards 
attained so rank a growth, and overspread the repub- 
lic, scattering, in every direction, their poisonous seeds. 



ESSAY XIX, POETS. 249 

In a conversation with Thespis, the most celebrated 
dramatist of his times, that illustrious legislator ar- 
gued, if we accustom ourselves to applaud falsehood 
in our public exhibitions, we shall soon find that it 
will insinuate itself into our most sacred engagements." 
Should not Christian parents much rather hesitate, 
before they introduce their offspring into so impure 
an atmosphere as that of our modern theatres, from 
which it is utterly impossible that they should escape 
without contracting some moral defilement ? 



ESSAY XX. 

A general View of the State of Literature and the 
Arts, during the Administration of Pericles and 
Alcibiades. 

Literature and the Arts obviously do not belong 
to the infancy of society. Civilization must have made 
considerable progress, before these can be expected to 
flourish in any country. The ignorance of barbarism 
must have yielded to the refinements of education, be- 
fore these mental luxuries will be generally approved. 
Commerce must have collected wealth, and wealth must 
have supplied the means of splendid patronage, ere 
that emulation will be excited, which is a pre-requisite 
to excellence. If these principles be admitted, they 
will enable us satisfactorily to account for the suc- 
cessful cultivation of the arts, in the opulent commer- 
cial cities of Ionia, at a much earlier period than that 
in which they flourished, in the more warlike, but less 
polished, republics of European Greece. Upon the 
same principles, the progress of literature, in the com- 



■I 

250 HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK II. 

mercial cities of Athens and Corinth, might have been 
anticipated, whilst Sparta remained uncultivated, and, 
consequently, unproductive. 

Asiatic Greece was, confessedly, the birth-place of 
every kind of Grecian literature. In one of the cities 
of Ionia, Miletus, it has been already mentioned, that 
Thales, the father of Grecian philosophy, was born. 
Another of those cities, probably Smyrna, lays claim 
to the distinguished honour of having given birth to 
Homer, the father of Grecian poetry. A third, Hali- 
carnassus, was the birth-place of Herodotus, the most 
ancie^nt of the Greek historians ; and a fourth, Ephe- 
sus, produced several of the earliest artists, both in 
sculpture and painting, of which Greece could boast. 
In this flourishing province, the first and most exqui- 
site specimens of architectural science and taste were 
to be found : particularly the magnificent temple of 
Diana, at Ephesus, which was considered the most 
beautiful edifice the world had ever seen, and afforded 
to posterity, the most decided proof of the high state 
of cultivation of the Grecian colonies. The costly 
presents made by the opulent, but superstitious kings 
of Lydia and Caria, to the oracle of Apollo, were chiefly 
executed by the Ionian artists, and gave an early indi- 
cation of the celebrity which Greece would acquire, 
by the exquisite productions of her statuaries and 
sculptors. 

History forms an important branch of literature, 
which was cultivated with great success in Greece, at 
the period to which the present essay refers. Hero- 
dotus was the first who undertook to compose a general 
and connected history. Other more ancient annalists 
had endeavoured to trace the genealogy of illustrious 



ii'SSAY XX. HISTORIANS. 251 

families, or the memorable events that had transpired 
at particular periods, and in particular places ; but the 
celebrated historian of Halicarnassus proposed to re- 
cord the transactions between the Greeks and all other 
nations, (whom they proudly designated Barbarians,) 
from the earliest times, to the conclusion of the Per- 
sian war. His history embraces the principal events 
of many ages ; describes the geographical situation, 
government, manners, religion, and literature of many 
countries ; and details these circumstances in language 
the most flowing and artless, yet the most dignified 
and impressive. It is, however, to be regretted that 
this justly-admired writer introduced into his narra- 
tive the most absurd traditions, and the most ro- 
mantic fables, which he had collected in his travels 
through the several countries, whose history he com- 
piled. 

Herodotus had no sooner completed his work than 
he read it publicly, both at the Olympic games, and in 
the assembly at Athens, with great applause. The en- 
thusiasm with which it was received, was excited not 
only by the merit of the production itself, but still 
more by the popularity of the subject he had chosen. 
The greater part of the persons assembled had been 
eye-witnesses of the affecting scenes, described by the 
historian with so much feeling and beauty. They had 
been present at Marathon, at Salamis, at Plataea; 
they had shared the dangers and honours of those me- 
morable battles. The younger part of the audience 
had been accustomed to listen to the tale of their fa- 
thers' prowess and victories from their infancy. It is 
not surprising if such subjects, recited before such an 
assembly, called forth the unbounded applause of the 



% 

252 HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK II. 

myriads who were collected at the public games. 
Amongst these was Thucydides, then a youth, who 
was observed to weep tears of delight and wonder, 
while he listened to the flowing eloquence of the his- 
torian. From that time, he resolved to signalize him- 
self both by his sword and his pen ; a resolution to 
which he strictly adhered. For when the Pelopon- 
nesian v/ar began, his military and literary ardour 
were equally enkindled. Appointed to the command 
of the Athenian army, he aspired to the heroic valour 
of his ancestors ; but having been defeated by the 
victorious Brasidas, and, on account of his ill success, 
being banished by his ungrateful countrymen, he em- 
ployed the leisure, which his exile afforded, in com- 
posing his admirable history of the Feloponnesian war, 
which yet remains a monument of his exalted genius 
and refined taste. Though far inferior to his prede- 
cessor in method and arrangement, in ease and sim- 
plicity, he greatly excels him in profundity of thought, 
energy of expression, accuracy of reasoning, and, 
(which is of still greater value in an historian,) in a sa- 
cred regard to truth. That part of his history, in which 
he describes the plague at i\thens, and especially where 
he portrays its moral influence on the Athenian cha- 
racter, has been considered one of the most beautiful 
and perfect specimens of ancient prose writing. 

Oratory was of the utmost importance in the 
Grecian republics, and formed an essential branch of 
Grecian education. Since all questions of general in- 
terest were discussed, in most of the states, before the 
assembly of the people, it became necessary to culti- 
vate, to the highest degree, an art which was found 
greatly to influence their decisions. Those who could 



ESSAY XX. 



ORATORS, ARTISTS, &C. 



253 



best command the passions, or impress the feelings of 
popular assemblies, were likely to rise to the highest 
honours in the state, though they might be far inferior 
to many others in wisdom and integrity. To his elo- 
quence, Pericles was chiefly indebted for his long-con- 
tinued influence over the republic of Athens, who is 
said to have been the most energetic and impressive 
of the Grecian orators. The youthful Alcibiades, not- 
withstanding all his excesses, acquired the confidence 
of his fellow-citizens, blinded their judgments, and 
won their hearts, by his mild but resistless eloquence. 
The sweetness of his voice, the gracefulness of his 
gesture, and the studied artlessness of his orations, 
charmed the Athenians, and frequently led them to 
adopt measures which their judgments disapproved 
Besides these more dignified orators, there flourished 
in Athens, at the period referred to, Andocides, Anti- 
phon, and Lysias, all of whom excelled in the art of 
speaking, though each had his peculiar excellencies. 
Several specimens of the eloquence of Lysias are still 
preserved, which sufficiently prove him to have been 
an orator of no ordinary rank. Most of the rhetori- 
cians in Athens were either put to death, or banished, 
during the tyranny of the Four Hundred ; for there is 
nothing at which despotism trembles more than at the 
flaming sword v/hich proceeds out of the mouth of the 
eloquent patriot. 

Calamitous as was the administration of Pericles in 
other respects, it was rendered most illustrious by the 
rapid progress of the kindred arts of sculpture and 
painting. Under his auspices, they made a transition 
from almost total neglect, to their highest state of per- 
fection. That politic statesman opened his treasury 



254 HISTORY OP GREECE. BOOK II. 

for the liberal encouragement of men of taste and sci- 
ence, from whatever province they might come. He 
attracted to Athens, as by a powerful charm, all who 
were most distinguished in every department of sci- 
ence, and excited a spirit of emulation amongst them. 

A numerous retinue of men of pre-eminent genius 
and unrivalled talents, were collected by his liberality, 
whose celebrated productions perpetuated the glory of 
Athens long after she had ceased to exist as an inde- 
pendent state. Amongst those who excelled in the 
graphic art may be mentioned Panaenus, the brother 
of Phidias, who astonished the Athenians by intro- 
ducing into his representation of battles, and espe- 
cially that of Marathon, portraits of the principal 
commanders — Polygnotus, who first varied the expres- 
sions of the countenance, so as to render the art he 
practised a vehicle of moral instruction — Parrhasius, 
who was most admired for the purity and correctness 
of his designs, and the accurate beauty of his propor- 
tions — Apollodorus and Xeuxis,both of whom excelled 
in the judicious admixture of light and shade. 

Amongst the principal sculptors were Phidias, Po- 
lycletus, Alcamenes, Myron, and Scopas. The name 
of Phidias and his principal productions are too well 
known to need any additional eulogy. He was the 
intimate friend of Pericles, yet after having been em- 
ployed in enriching and adorning the city with the 
fruits of his genius, he was unjustly accused by his 
enemies, and miserably perished in prison. The cir- 
cumstance that led to his disgrace and punishment, 
was, his having introduced a representation of him- 
self and his illustrious patron, Pericles, in the shield 
which he executed for his statue of Minerva. This 



ESSAY XX. GRECIAN LITERATURE. 255 

pardonable instance of vanity the Athenians magni- 
fied into a crime ; they pronounced it a profanation of 
the sacred image, and a species of impiety. 

Collected from the works of Pliny, Plutarch, Longinus, Aristotle, 
Cicero, Quintilian, S^c. SfC, 



REFLECTIONS. 

The literature of a country must of necessity be a 
powerful engine, either of moral good or evil. If the 
most able and admired v^riters of the age, v^^hose 
genius and talents command universal attention and 
admiration, are engaged on the side of truth and vir- 
tue — if they are themselves men of piety, and endea- 
vour to diffuse a similar spirit through their pages — if 
they are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, either 
as individuals or as authors, in their private or lite- 
rary characters — they cannot fail to be extensively 
useful. A few such individuals, under the divine 
blessing, may be the means of elevating the tone of 
morals and of exciting a spirit of zeal throughout the 
land. They may constrain iniquity to hide her head, 
and impress upon the public mind a respect, a vene- 
ration, for the religion of Jesus Christ, even where it 
is not cordially received. 

But if (as has too frequently been the case) litera- 
ture and piety are at variance — 'if men of taste and 
letters exhibit a decided aversion from religious truth 
— if their talents are ignobly prostituted to palliate 
guilt, and sanction immorality — if poets, historians, 
orators, and artists concur in their endeavours to 
enkindle the vilest passions of a depraved heart, 
and bedeck the most loathsome vices with gay and 



256 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK II. 



fascinating attire — if the noblest productions of taste 
and genius are so impure, that they cannot be con- 
templated, and much less admired, without vitiating 
the mind — in such a case, the influence of literature 
and the arts will be most baneful. This little per- 
nicious leaven will imperceptibly but powerfully fer- 
ment, amidst the mass of society, till the whole is 
leavened. It cannot be doubted that the general de- 
pravation of morals, which took place in Athens from 
the reign of Pericles, was, in a great measure, to be 
ascribed to the prurient imagination of the poets, the 
indecency of the comedians, the licentiousness of the 
orators, and the obscenity of the artists of that age. 
These, and not the Spartan sword, accomplished the 
destruction of that flourishing and, in its purest days, 
that invincible, republic. 

But are men of taste and genius reduced to the sad 
necessity of selecting the subjects, on which their 
powers shall be exercised, from such unhallowed 
ground ? Surely not ! The inspired volume opens a 
boundless field, in which their imaginations may rove 
with sacred delight, and where they may collect the 
sweetest flowers of taste — the richest treasures of 
knowledge. The subjects of which it treats are wor- 
thy to employ the noblest powers of created intelli- 
gences. Its promises and prospects are sufficient to 
awaken the most sublime affections, the tenderest pas- 
sions, the most awful yet delightful emotions. No 
efforts of genius have been more successful in securing 
the admiration and applause of mankind, than those 
which have been drawn from sacred sources, and em- 
ployed on subjects of inspiration. The celebrity of 
Milton's Paradise Lost," and Klopstock's " Mes- 



ESSAY XX. 



GRECIAN LITERATURE. 



257 



siah the unexampled popularity of the " Pilgrim's 
Progress," by Bunyan ; the permanent and increasing 
fame of Handel's sacred music; and the estimation 
in which the cartoons of Raphael, and many other 
exquisite productions^ both of departed and living 
genius, have been universally held, confirm the truth 
of the preceding remark. Their success should tend 
to encourage those who labour for posterity in any of 
the departments of literature, to consecrate their ta- 
lents to Jehovah, not doubting that this will ulti- 
mately prove most honourable to themselves, as well 
as most beneficial to mankind. Where can the most 
costly offerings of human science or genius be more 
properly brought than to the altar of God ? Where 
shall the chaplets of fame, the wreath of honour and 
the palm of unrivalled excellence be laid, but at the 
feet of Jesus? for " in him are hidden all the treasures 
of wisdom and knowledge !" 



THE HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 

FROM THE END OP THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR TO THE 
FINAL EXTINCTION OP THE LIBERTIES OF GREECE 
BY THE ROMANS. 

ESSAY I. 

On the Expulsion of the Thirty Athenian Tyrants by 
Thrasybulus. 

FROM A. C. 403—400. 
The victorious Lysander, having demolished the for- 
tifications of Athens, proceeded to dictate to the van- 
quished republicans a new form of government, which 
was intended to complete their subjugation. He se- 
lected from amongst the citizens, thirty individuals, 
who were known to be most devoted to Sparta, to 
whom he gave unrestricted powers, and whose autho- 
rity he established, by surrounding them with a nu- 
merous guard of Spartan soldiers. At the head of 
this council of thirty, or more properly these thirty 
tyrants, was Critias, a ferocious and sanguinary 
usurper, who deluged Athens with the blood of her 
best citizens. At his instigation, all who were rich, 
or powerful, or popular in the state, w^ere proscribed, 
condemned, and put to the sword. Whoever were 
possessed of superior talents and learning, the philo- 



ESSAY I. THRASYBULUS. 259 

sophers, the orators, and the artists of that day, were 
suspected as dangerous, and, if they neglected to 
escape from the city, were executed as traitors. The- 
ramenes, one of the thirty, who was of a milder dis- 
position, remonstrated against these cruelties, but his 
remonstrances only served to bring upon himself the 
furious revenge of the malignant Critias, who sen- 
tenced him to a violent death. 

But arbitrary power, when thus abused, is usually 
of very short duration. Thrasybulus, who has been 
already mentioned as the deliverer of his country from 
the yoke of bondage, was not an indifferent spectator 
of these enormities. Having escaped with a select 
band of patriots to the Theban territory, he watched 
the favourable moment for attempting to restore the 
liberties of Athens. He well knew that the rod of 
usurpation and cruelty is easily broken, and therefore 
did not hesitate, with thirty partisans, to erect the 
standard of liberty in Attica. With this small but 
determined corps, he occupied the castle of Phyla, 
situate within a few miles of Athens, from which the 
Athenian tyrants, and their Spartan guards attempted, 
in vain, to dislodge him. His numbers daily increased, 
and enabled him soon to meet the enemy in the field, 
to scatter their forces, to seize the harbour of Piraeus, 
and compel the usurpers to flee from the defenceless 
capital, to the adjacent and well-fortified city of Eleu- 
sis. Here the sanguinary tyrants made a last effort 
to retain their authority. They prevailed upon many 
of the degenerate citizens of Athens to assist the 
Spartan garrison in destroying their brethren, who 
only fought for the liberties of their country. But no- 
thing could withstand the energies of Thrasybulus 



260 HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK III. 

and his patriotic followers. In an obstinate engage- 
ment, fought between the harbour and city of Athens, 
the arch-tyrant Critias was killed, and all his mer- 
cenaries defeated with great slaughter. When the 
Athenian partisans of the tyrants came to solicit leave 
to bury their dead, Thrasybulus affectionately expos- 
tulated with them on their infatuated conduct, in flee- 
ing from their best friends, and adhering to their 
most cruel adversaries ; reminded them of their former 
liberties ; and called upon them to prove themselves 
worthy of their ancestors. A conscious blush of shame 
suffused the cheeks of the degenerate Athenians while 
they listened to his oration — ^they hastened back to the 
city, and instantly passed a decree which deposed the 
thirty usurpers, and nominated ten magistrates, (one 
elected from each tribe), in their room. 

These Decemviri, instead of profiting by the scenes 
they had witnessed, and adopting a more lenient 
course, trod in the steps of their arbitrary predeces- 
sors, and practised similar cruelties. They were en- 
couraged to this abuse of their newly-acquired power, 
by the arrival of Lysander, at the head of a Spartan 
army, who closely besieged Thrasybulus and his army 
in the Piraeus. Such a formidable adversary would 
have soon decided the question, and rivetted more 
strongly the fetters of the Athenians, had not Pausa- 
nias, one of the kings of Sparta, thwarted all the 
measures of Lysander, and openly espoused the cause 
of the exiles. Whether he was induced to do this 
from a jealousy of the reputation of Lysander, or a 
commiseration of the sufferings of the Athenians, is 
doubtful. Its effects, however, were to terminate the 
tyranny, and allay the subsequent commotions, which 



ESSAY I. THRASYBULUS. 261 

had been so destructive ; to introduce Thrasybulus 
and his party into the dismantled city ; to restore the 
ancient constitution and government of Athens ; and 
to procure a general amnesty for their oppressors and 
tyrants. This act of oblivion w^as accepted by the 
greater part of the guilty offenders with thankfulness ; 
but some of the usurpers carried on their intrigues at 
Eleusis, and employed the money they had unjustly 
obtained, in hiring mercenaries, by whom they hoped 
to recover their lost authority. These measures ren- 
dered it necessary to the tranquillity of Athens, that 
such as refused to accept of the amnesty should be 
put to death. 

Thus terminated, after a struggle of nearly three 
years, an usurpation, which is said to have cost the 
Athenians more lives and property than ten years of 
the Peloponnesian war. Its successful issue was to be 
ascribed to the conduct and resolution, the temper and 
moderation of Thrasybulus, whom no dangers could 
deter, no proffered rewards entice, from the path to 
which conscience and honour, patriotism and justice, 
alike invited him. It should be recorded, in praise of 
this inflexible patriot, that at the commencement of 
the civil contest, soon after the death of Theramenes, 
the remaining tyrants privately sent to offer him a seat 
in their council, and an equal share of authority, pro- 
mising, at the same time, to pardon any twelve of his 
friends who might have been proscribed or exiled — 
but the overture was rejected with generous indigna- 
tion. " Bonds, imprisonment, tortures, or death," 
said he to the messenger, are far more honourable 
, than any authority purchased on such conditions." 

Xenopli. Hcilen. lib. 2. Pint, in Vit. Lysand. Corn. Nop. in 
id. Diodor. Sicul. lib. 14. Isocrat. et Lysia. Orat. 



262 



HISTORY. OF GREECE. BOOK III 



REFLECTIONS. 

The calamities of the Athenians were manifestly ^ 
visitations of Divine Providence, for their abounding 
crimes. The preceding period was characterized by 
every species of public enormity, and private excess. 
This was quickly followed by a dreadful series of na- 
tional judgments, and domestic sufferings. Thus does 
the history of nations, as well as the bitter experience 
of individuals, confirm the divine testimony, *' be 
sure your sins will find you out." It might have been 
hoped that these successive judgments would hav^* 
awakened reflection, and led to some public humilia- 
tion, like that which was exhibited at Nineveh, when 
the prophet Jonah warned its guilty inhabitants of 
approaching danger. But no such salutary effects 
appear to have been produced by their unparalleled 
sufferings. The whole city was given up, not only to 
the grossest idolatry, but also to the most infamous 
vices. No man repented him of his wickedness, say- 
ing. What have I done ? " And do not the eventful 
times in which we live, in like manner, summon the 
nations of the earth to repentance ? are they not loudly 
called upon to break off their sins by righteousness, 
and to humble themselves beneath the mighty hand of 
God ? Nor should the awful voice of the God of ven- ^ 
geance be considered only as addressed to empires, 
since it is manifest that personal transgressions de- 
mand personal humiliation and penitence. All that 
have contributed their part towards filling up the mea- 
sure of national guilt, are justly required to mourn 
apart their individual crimes, and *' loathe themselves 
in their own sight, for their own iniquities and abo_ 
minations." 



ESSAY I. 



THRASYBULUS. 



♦ * 

263 



The oppressors and destroyers of mankind are spoken 
of in Scripture as ** the sword of the Lord, the rod 
of his anger." They are instruments of righteous 
vengeance, whom the Sovereign of the Universe 
deigns to employ for a season, to execute his purposes 
of wrath. But when the " strange work" of Jeho- 
vah is completed, these, his *' sharp thrashing instru- 
ments," are broken in pieces, or cast aside as vile and 
useless. The proud oppressors become, in their turns, 
the monuments of retributive justice, and their violent 
dealings, to which they were urged by their own ma- 
lignant passions, descend upon their own heads. 

The lenity shewn to these sanguinary usurpers and 
their infamous partisans, after all the atrocities they 
had committed, exhibits the character of the Athenian 
patriot in a most amiable light, and was attended with 
the happiest consequences. The act of oblivion, pro- 
posed by him, was a seasonable measure, dictated by 
the profoundest policy, and wisdom, calculated to heal 
the wounds of the state, which had so long and pro- 
fusely bled. But under how much stronger obliga- 
tions are the disciples of Christ laid, to practise this 
forbearance towards their enemies, this prompt for- 
giveness of injuries ; on principles not merely of state 
policy, or of private benevolence, but on those of 
Christian obedience. If this temper be wanting in 
the professed subjects of the Prince of Peace, a day 
is coming, in which idolaters and heathens will rise 
up in judgment against them, to condemn them. 

The success with which the efforts of Thrasybulus 
to emancipate his enslaved country, were ultimately 
crowned, should encourage those who contend in the 
sacred cause of truth and holiness, to persevere, how- 



264 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



ever formidable their opponents, and however inade- 
quate their own exertions may appear to be. Who that 
had seen the little band of Thrasybulus, consisting of 
not more than thirty patriots, enter the lists with an 
unequal number of sanguinary tyrants, surrounded by 
. a Spartan phalanx, and thousands of Athenian slaves, 
would not have trembled for the self-devoted victims, 
and pronounced the undertaking hopeless and despe- 
rate ? Yet courage united to prudence, and firmness, 
accompanied with moderation, finally triumphed over 
all opposition, and ensured success. So, if at any time 
the discouraging thought arise, when entering upon a 
more arduous warfare, " who is sufficient for these 
things," let it not be forgotten, that perseverance is 
victory ; the crown of glory is promised, not only to 
such as are strong in faith, but to every Christian 
warrior who is faithful unto death." " He that 
endurethto the end, the same shall be saved." 



ESSAY IL 

The Retreat of the Ten Thousand, 
A.C. 400. 

At the same moment in which the transactions took 
place in Athens, which have been briefly related in the 
preceding essay, others, equally memorable and in- 
structive, transpired in Asia, in which a considerable 
number of Greeks, and the whole Persian empire were 
deeply interested. These events, so remarkable in them- 
selves, are still rendered more deserving of notice, on 



ESSAY II. RETREAT OF THE TEN THOUSAND. 265 

account of the ability and fidelity with which they have 
been narrated by an historian, who was not only an 
eye-witness, but a principal agent in the above-men- 
tioned memorable retreat. 

Darius Nothus, at his death, bequeathed to his eldest 
son, Artaxerxes, the crown of Persia, and to his younger 
son, Cyrus, the government of the rich and powerful 
provinces of Asia Minor. The latter was a young 
prince possessed of many amiable and excellent quali- 
ties, but of an insatiable ambition, which was conti- 
nually inflamed by the partial fondness of his mother, 
Parysatis. Far from being contented with the portion 
assigned him, he aspired to the sovereignty of Persia. 
With the concealed intention of invading his brother's 
dominions, and hurling him from the throne, Cyrus 
levied forces, a great proportion of which were 
Greeks, upon whose military discipline and valour he 
placed his chief dependance. He amused his brother 
Artaxerxes with false professions and empty pro- 
mises, till he was prepared to penetrate into the heart 
of Persia, with a numerous and well-appointed army. 
So secret were his operations, so prompt and decided 
his measures, that he had arrived at the plains of 
Babylon before his unsuspecting brother awakened 
from his dream of security, and began to harness him_ 
self for the battle. 

The resources, however, of the Persian monarch 
were so abundant, that a few days were sufficient to 
collect an immense force. The dreadful conflict took 
place at Cunaxa, about 25 leagues from Babylon, in 
which the Greeks, under Clearchus, performed prodi- 
gies of valour ; but Cyrus was killed at the moment in 
which he was eagerly pressing forward to pierce his 



266 



HISTORY OP GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



brother to the heart. Notwithstanding the unbroken 
strength of the Grecian troops, the army of Cyrus was 
completely disconcerted by the death of its leader ; 
and having no longer any object in view, retired in 
good order. Heralds were sent by Artaxerxes, to 
summon the Greeks to deliver up their arms, to which 
they indignantly replied, " if they were received as 
friends and allies, their arms would be of use to Ar- 
il taxerxes, but if not, they would be necessary for them- 
selves." In a council of war, held by the Grecian 
commanders, the desperate resolution was fixed of 
commencing their retreat, through a hostile country, 
M in the face of an army, supposed to have consisted of 
nearly a million of men ; though they well knew that 
,f there were five or six hundred leagues before them, 
ere they could arrive at a friendly region ; that many 
difficult passes and deep rivers intervened ; and that, 
if they escaped from Persia, they would still have to 
encounter fierce and savage tribes, through whose un- 
frequented territories they must make their way. Yet 
so dear was liberty to them, that they preferred to en- 
counter all these dangers and sufferings, rather than 
surrender to the Persian monarch. 

Artaxerxes had witnessed, in the battle of Cunaxa, 
such convincing proofs of the invincible bravery of the 
Greeks, that he did not venture to attack them in 
open warfare, but contented himself with harassing 
them in their retreat, cutting off their supplies, and 
drawing them, by treacherous promises, into circum- 
stances of peril. Amongst other disgraceful artifices 
to which he resorted, one was to instruct Tissaphernes, 
a powerful satrap, to insinuate himself into the con- 
fidence of the Greeks. With consummate art, this 



ESSAY II. RETREAT OF THE TEN THOUSAND. 267 

professed friend of Greece, won their affections, by 
promising to conduct them through fertile plains and 
villages, abounding with provisions, and by the most 
solemn engagements, to protect them from danger. 
But no sooner had the insidious Persian accomplished 
this base design, than he seized, and barbarously mas- 
sacred all the principal commanders of the Greeks, 
whom he had seduced into his tent. In one calamitous 
hour, this heroic band was bereft of the five generals, 
under whose conduct they had frequently been led on 
to victory, and twenty of their principal captains, who 
had shared with them their dangers and honours. 
The melancholy tidings of their loss, filled the Grecian 
camp with consternation; a moment was given to 
silent despair ; the next moment, a ray of hope darted 
upon them, elicited by a cheering oration of Xeno- 
phon, whose eloquence roused their drooping courage, 
and prevailed upon them to elect new commanders. 
The night was spent in filling up the vacant posts, 
in arranging the order of march, in animating the 
troops, by the most eloquent and energetic speeches, 
and in burning or destroying all that would encumber 
their retreat. Ere day-break, the Greeks had already 
escaped out of the toils of the treacherous Tissaphernes, 
who had confidently anticipated their immediate sur- 
render, or at most that, deprived of their generals, 
they would become his easy prey. Enraged at his dis- 
appointment, the haughty satrap pursued them with 
myriads of his best troops, who frequently charged 
the Grecian phalanx, and were as frequently repulsed 
with great loss. 

The eloquent young officer, whose name has been 
already mentioned, and who, after the massacre of the 



268 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



generals, was the main-spring of this celebrated expe- 
dition, has so minutely described the circumstances of* 
this retreat, the several difficulties with which the 
Greeks had to contend, the long and perilous course 
they pursued, with weary steps, but with an unbroken 
mind, that in perusing his excellent history of these 
facts, we almost seem to be present ; we cannot for- 
bear to sympathize with them in all their hardships 
and alarms : like them, we are continually elevated 
or depressed by alternate hopes and fears. 

Conducted by this interesting guide, we seem to 
observe them crossing the Tigris, the Centrites, the 
Euphrates, and the Araxes, in the face of enemies, 
who incessantly galled them in their passage, with 
their javelins and arrows — we see them climbing the 
Carducian mountains, which presented a continued 
phain of crags and precipices, a succession of defiles, 
occupied with savage hordes, and a barren, trackless 
waste, through many a dreary league — we sympathize 
with them in their temporary repose in the friendly 
villages of Armenia, after having nearly perished by 
the severity of the season and pestilential vapours — 
again, we find them disputing the mountainous passes 
with the Phasians, the Taochians, and the Chalybes, 
tribes the most ferocious and warlike — till, at lengthy 
we seem to hear the general shout that resounded 
through the camp, when, from an eminence, they dis- 
covered the sea, whose waves washed their native 
shores, and, on whose margin, they now erected the 
trophy of victory. — Yet, even here, their labours did 
not cease; for being destitute of ships,, they were 
constrained to continue their march along the sea- 
coast, to cross the mountains of Colchis, to disperse 



ESSAY II. XENOPHON's RETREAT. 269 ^ 

the enemies by whom they were continually harassed, 
and obtain provisions by their sword and bow, til! 
they arrived at the Hellespont. So long as they were 
surrounded by hostile bands, a sense of danger united 
them in one compact and harmonious body, but as 
they drew nearer home, dissensions arose amongst 
them, which called for all the address, and elo- 
quence, and influence of Xenophon to appease and 
reduce to order. Impoverished by their tedious jour, 
ney, they now manifested a disposition to enrich them- 
selves, by plundering all the defenceless cities and 
villages through which they passed, from which ag- 
gressions, their youthful leader, with the utmost diffi- 
culty, restrained them. When they were reviewed at 
the close of their retreat, it was found that during 
their march, their numbers had been reduced by as- 
saults, diseases, or fatigue, from 10,000 to 8,600 
men. The time which had been occupied with per- 
forming this truly adventurous journey, from when 
they left the city of Ephesus, under the conduct of 
Cyrus to their arrival in Greece, was one year and 
three months. 

Vid. Xenoph. de Exped. Cyri, passim. 



REFLECTIONS. 

Who can contemplate the character and death of 
Cyrus the younger, as they have been described in 
glowing terms by his amiable but too partial biogra> 
pher, without the keenest regret that a prince pos- 
sessed of such qualities should have been the slave of 
his ambitious passions ? He was greatly beloved by 
all who knew him, on account of his kind, and gene- 



270 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



rous, and condescending deportment. In the pro- 
vinces assigned him, he administered the affairs of 
government with such wisdom and moderation, as to 
live in the affections of his subjects, and rule them by 
love, rather than fear. He exhibited a wisdom be- 
yond his years in the choice of the ablest officers of 
state, and the most illustrious generals for his army. 
He aimed at rewarding merit alone, wherever it might 
be found, and that with a royal munificence. 

Yet let not the splendour of these brilliant qualities 
render us insensible to the crimes of this unnatural 
fratricide ; for such he was in intention, though not 
in reality. To what a fearful extreme was he driven 
by his furious ambition, which impelled him not 
only to covet his brother's throne, (to which he had 
not the shadow of a claim,) but to form the deliberate 
purpose of seizing it by violence, and wading to it 
through a brother's blood ! How must that infernal 
passion, which possessed his soul, have destroyed the 
sympathies of nature, ere he could act the part which 
disgraced his last moments, when, transported with 
rage and fury at the sight of his royal brother sur- 
rounded by his guards, he rode up to him, and aimed 
a javelin at his breast ; regardless of his own life, in 
his ardour to exterminate that of Artaxerxes. But 
who can conceive of the terrors of death under such 
circumstances 1 What must have been the anguish of 
spirit felt by this murderer, amidst the agonies of 
death, if a few moments were given him for reflection 
before he expired ! Or, if not, what must it have 
been to plunge into eternity with this guilt of intended 
fratricide resting upon his conscience ! What, to stand 
at the dread tribunal of the Supreme Judge, having 




ESS\Y II. 



xenophon's retreat. 



271 



these his crimes, emblazoned in flaming characters, 
before his eyes I 

From this melancholy train of thought, let us, how- 
ever, turn to contemplate, with admiration, the escape 
of the band of heroes, who had been enticed into the 
service of this unhappy prince. Were there not such 
abundant historical evidence of the fact, it would be 
scarcely possible to avoid classing this narrative with 
the most romantic and incredible fables ; but, as there 
is no room for scepticism itself to doubt of its credi- 
bility, it only remains that we endeavour to turn our 
admiration to some useful purpose. The several inci- 
dents of this memorable retreat teach us the import- 
ance of decision — the necessity of caution — ^the bene- 
fits of union — and the reward of perseverance. 

If the Greeks, after the battle of Cunaxa, had shewn 
a wavering disposition — if the Persian heralds had 
discovered in them the signs of indecision and alarm 
— if they had hesitated in their reply to the imperious 
demands of Artaxerxes, they would have been at once 
overwhelmed by the legions that surrounded them, 
and pined away in hopeless captivity. But it was the 
undismayed resolution portrayed on their counte- 
nances, the decided tone of their words and actions, 
that inspired the Persian monarch with awe, and 
made him fear to encounter their desperate valour. 
Thus will a firmness of principle, a decision of cha- 
racter, a moral heroism of conduct, disarm opposition 
in a thousand circumstances of human life. They will 
render the persons who practise them invulnerable in 
the midst of dangers, and appal the most formidable 
adversaries. 

The Grecian troops were taught, by painful expe- 



272 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



rience, the danger of trusting to the flattering pro- 
mises of an Insidious foe, and the necessity of caution 
in dealing with unprincipled characters. They paid 
so dearly for their credulity, that the lesson was never 
forgotten. Through all the remaining stages of their 
adventurous journey, after the treacherous cruelty of 
Tissaphernes, they maintained the most unremitting 
vigilance, by day and night, in apparently friendly as 
well as in hostile regions, till they arrived at their 
own borders. It is thus that inexperienced youth is 
sometimes taught, by lessons that can never be ef- 
faced from the memory, the deceitfulness of sin, the 
treacherous friendship of the world, and the mis- 
chievous consequences of listening to pleasure's siren 
song. It is well, if the result of these early and im- 
pressive instructions be, to induce and fix the habit of 
watchfulness and circumspection. 

The Greeks, who effected this celebrated retreat, 
would soon have become the prey of the host that 
hung upon their rear, and continually watched for 
their destruction, if they had not been firmly united, 
as the heart of one man. If they had not proceeded 
on their march in so compact a phalanx, as to present, 
on every side, an impenetrable front to their harass- 
ing enemies, their ranks would soon have been broken 
and scattered. Thus important, thus essential, thus 
highly advantageous is union amongst Christians ; 
whilst, as strangers and pilgrims, they pass through a 
" world that lies in wickedness." So necessary is it 
to their safety, so conducive to their prosperity, that 
they be " knit together in one body." 

The persevering labours of the Greeks brought 
them at length to a place of safety, where they re- 



ESSAY II. 



xenophon's retreat. 



273 



posed themselves, after the unparalleled hardships 
they had endured. So sweet will be the final reward 
of persevering piety, when the exhausted labourers in 
the service of the Redeemer shall take possession of 
their promised rest — a rest the more endeared by the 
scenes of danger and suffering through which they 
have previously passed, and the certainty of its per- 
petual duration. 



ESSAY III. 
The Character and Death of Socrates. 
A.C. 399. 

Never was there a people, whose affections were 
more fickle, or whose resentments were more vehe- 
ment than the Athenians. Sufficient proof has already 
been adduced of the truth of this remark ; but a yet 
more striking example will be afforded in the present 
essay, in which it is proposed to collect the principal 
circumstances that relate to the death of Socrates. 
Before these well-attested facts are stated, it may be 
useful to furnish the juvenile reader with a sketch of 
his character and life. 

Socrates was the son of Sophroniscus, an Athenian 
sculptor. In early youth, he followed his father's oc_ 
cupation, which seems to have impressed his mind 
with a taste for proportion and beauty, both as they 
appear in the natural and moral world. But his insa- 
tiable ardour in the pursuit of knowledge, and the in- 
creasing interest he felt in physical, literary, and 
moral researches, prevented him from continuing to 

T 



274 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



practise an art, which was then in high repute, and in 
which he would probably have risen to eminence. 
He was endowed with a penetrating and comprehen- 
sive mind, which soon detected the superficial preten- 
sions of the sophists, and the intricate mazes of false 
philosophy. After having attended all the public 
schools, and inquired diligently into the diflferent sys- 
tems taught in them, he arrived at a decided convic- 
tion, that they were completely erroneous, and more 
calculated to bewilder than to instruct. He rightly 
judged that the best use of knowledge is to form prin- 
ciples of action. The subtleties, the speculations, the 
theories of preceding philosophers, he, therefore, re- 
jected as worse than useless ; and undertook to teach 
all who were willing to receive his instructions, a more 
simple, pure and practical system of ethics — one which, 
he hoped, would form the Athenian youth to habits of 
virtue and extensive usefulness. 

In communicating knowledge he avoided every thing 
formal and dictatorial ; he used the simplest mode of 
illustration, the most easy and natural forms of ex- 
pression ; he always lectured gratuitously, in all so- 
cieties, and in all places, without respect of persons, 
both in season and out of season. The insinuating 
manner of his address, and the sprightly charms of 
his conversation attracted many disciples, and fasci- 
nated even the most dissolute of the Athenian youth. 
Fully aware that an interference with public affairs 
would greatly abridge, if not destroy, his usefulness as 
a public instructor, he determined, as far as possible, 
to detach himself from every political party, and reso- 
lutely declined every office in the state to which he 
was appointed. He did not, indeed, refuse to render 



ESSAY III. 



SOCRATES. 



275 



his personal services, when claimed by his country, in 
the hour of danger; for he bravely fought at the 
siege of Potidaea, and in the battle of Delium*. Nor 
did he shrink back from exercising his judicial rights 
as a senator, when questions of difficulty and danger 
arose. It is particularly recorded to his honour, that 
he alone resisted the unjust condemnation of the ten 
Athenian commanders fj both by eloquently pleading 
their cause, and giving his single vote for their ac- 
quittal. For the most part, however, he satisfied him- 
self with the humbler, but not less useful, functions of 
a preceptor of youth. 

Yet this retired and unostentatious character did not 
escape obloquy and persecution. He was first as- 
sailed by the comedians, whose compositions he had 
publicly censured on account of their impurity. One 
of the satirical pieces, written by Aristophanes, in- 
tended to hold up to ridicule the person and doctrines 
of Socrates, was performed more than twenty years 
before his death, and yet is considered a remote cause 
of that tragical event. It was received with clamor- 
ous approbation by the licentious and profligate mul- 
titude, whose vices the philosopher condemned with 
severity. A host of enemies raised a temporary out- 
cry against him, consisting of the most unfounded 
charges, which soon died away, or rather was silenced 
by his irreproachable life. Envy uttered a murmur, 
when the Delphic oracle pronounced him the wisest 
of men." Infidelity and Impiety laughed him to 
scorn, when he spoke of an inspiring genius, (by 
which he probably meant conscience,) whose moni- 



See Book II. Essay 16. 



t See Book II. Essay 17. 



276 HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK III. 

tions warned him of danger, or incited him to duty. 
But it was long before any or all of these his adver- 
saries could acquire courage to accuse him openly 
before the Athenian senate. 

At length an informer was brought forward, who 
presented an accusation in the following terms; 

Melitus, the son of Melitus, of the borough of Pi- 
thros, accuses Socrates, the son of Sophroniscus, of 
the borough of Alopice, of having offended against 
the laws of Athens, by not acknowledging the gods, 
and introducing new divinities under the name of 
genii ; and also of having corrupted the Athenian 
youth ; on account of which crimes he is worthy of 
death." Though Melitus was the nominal accuser of 
Socrates, the real promoters of this unjust trial were 
Lycon and Anytus ; the former a popular orator, the 
latter an opulent and powerful magistrate in the re- 
public. The principal arguments used by his adver- 
saries in support of their charge, were taken from his 
public discourses, in which he had sometimes ridi- 
culed the popular superstitions of the age, and as- 
serted his claim to special revelations from the gods ; 
and from the characters of some of his most distin- 
guished pupils, particularly Alcibiades, Theramenes, 
and Critias, all of whom had proved curses to their 
country. 

The friends of Socrates too plainly perceived the 
danger which threatened him, and earnestly desired to 
exert their influence and talents on his behalf. The 
eloquent Lysias, especially, who had been one of his 
disciples, and was most affectionately attached to him, 
earnestly entreated permission to deliver a pathetic 
oration he had prepared for the occasion ; but Socrates, 



ESSAY nr. 



SOCRATES. 



277 



whilst he admired the composition as a display of 
talent, peremptorily refused the request, because its 
tone was too supplicatory for a character unjustly 
accused. He was, at length, prevailed upon to under- 
take his own defence, not so much with the hope of 
protracting his life, as in compliance with the pressing 
solicitations of his friends. His oration was delivered 
with a serene countenance, an intrepid tone, a calm 
and dignified gesture, which produced no other effect 
upon his judges, than to incense them more highly 
against him. A small majority of votes pronounced 
him guilty, and condemned him to die by poison. 

The execution of the sentence was delayed thirty 
days, on account of a law which prohibited the putting 
to death any criminal during the absence of the priest 
of Apollo, who annually sailed to the Isle of Delos to 
offer sacrifices. During this interval, the prison was 
continually thronged with his affectionate disciples, 
who came to administer to his comfort, and receive 
his last instructions. One of these, Crito, having 
gained the keeper of the prison by a bribe, urged 
Socrates, by every persuasive entreaty, to effect his 
escape ; but he could make no impression on the in- 
flexible mind of his preceptor, who reasoned with him 
on the impropriety of such a measure, which implied, 
* disobedience to the laws of the republic, an undue 
attachment to life, and rebellion against the gods 
who summoned him away. His discourses, during 
this interesting period, were replete with practical 
instruction and sentiments of piety ; particularly when 
treating on the duty of a cheerful submission to Pro- 
vidence, and on the immortality of the soul — topics 



278 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



which never failed to diffuse a serenity of mind, that 
nothing could disturb. 

At length the ship returned from Delos, which was 
the fatal signal of his execution. An officer of justice 
brought the cup of hemlock, who expressed his grief 
at being employed in such a mournful service, by 
turning away his head and weeping bitterly. His 
disciples and friends could no longer refrain from the 
most vehement expressions of sorrow. But Socrates 
remained unmoved ; with mildness and affection he 
reproved them, for their want of submission to the 
will of the gods ; and proceeded to discourse with 
much energy on the condition of the soul after death. 
He contended that the body is a very subordinate 
part of man ; that it immured, as in a prison, the 
soaring spirit, and prevented it, for a time, from 
entering the blissful regions ; but that death liberated 
the immortal prisoner, and introduced it to new and 
perpetual scenes of joy or wo. From these princi- 
ples, he argued the importance of attending to the 
interests of this imperishable part of man, rather 
than to be solicitous about his present condition. 
Before drinking the hemlock, he went into an adjoining 
apartment to bathe, attended only by his affectionate 
friend Crito. On his return, he affectionately embraced 
and dismissed his three children, two of whom were 
very young, committing them to the protection of the 
gods. 

He then took, with a steady hand and unchanged 
countenance, the deadly cup ; and, after having 
breathed a secret prayer, drank the poisonous draught. 
AH his remaining moments were occupied with en- 



ESSAY III. 



SOCRATES. 



279 



deavours to soothe and console his afflicted followers, 
who considered themselves as orphans, unjustly de- 
prived of the best of fathers. He continued to walk 
about and converse freely, till the deadly potion began 
to operate, when he lay down upon his couch, and 
having given an injunction to Crito, to offer a sacrifice 
to iEsculapius which he had vowed, WTapped himself 
in his mantle, and remained silent and motionless, till 
he expired. Crito closed his eyes, and immediately 
afterwards fled, with the rest of the friends of Socrates, 
to the house of the celebrated Euclid at Megara. 

Socrates was in his seventieth year, when he was 
thus unjustly doomed to death by his ungrateful coun- 
trymen. But it was not long ere their enmity was 
turned to pity, to regret, and even to veneration. For 
when one of the verses of Euripides was publicly re- 
cited, in which it was said of another Grecian patriot, 

" You doom the justest of the Greeks to perish," 

the whole assembly melted into tears, and instantly 
applied it to Socrates. After some time, the inha- 
bitants of the city put on mourning for him, as if a 
public calamity had befallen them ; and all agreed to 
censure his accusers and judges, some of whom were 
put to death, and others banished. Nor were the 
Athenians satisfied with these transient expressions of 
regret ; they decreed the highest honours to his me- 
mory ; they erected a statue of brass, executed by Ly- 
sippus, in the most frequented place of resort ; they 
enrolled his name amongst their subordinate divi- 
nities, and dedicated a temple to his memory. 

Xenoph. in Memorab. et in Apolog. Socrat. Plato in Phsedo. 
Crito, Sfc. Plut, in Vit. Alcibiad. S^c. 

0r 



280 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III- 



REFLECTIONS. 

Many occupations are esteemed more honourable — 
many are to be found more lucrative — but there is 
none more useful — than that of the instructor of youth. 
Especially if he that undertakes the important office 
of education, enter into it with right views, and direct 
his efforts to right ends — if, like Socrates, he aim at 
the formation of virtuous habits in youth, no less than 
at their instruction in science and learning — if it be 
his primary object to prepare them for future useful- 
ness, and eternal felicity. Such a character, though 
he may tread an humbler path, than that which the 
sons of ambition pursue, is a public benefactor. The 
fruits of his labours are reaped long after his death — < 
they are gathered by many generations — they descend 
to the latest posterity. 

But how often is it seen that those who have enjoyed 
the greatest advantages in their youth — who, like Al- 
cibiades or Critias, have listened with delight to the 
affectionate counsels of their preceptors, afterwards 
resign themselves to the dominion of their passions, 
bring a reproach upon their teachers, and ruin on 
themselves ? And can this excite our wonder, when 
the sacred volume informs us that many of those who 
were blest with the personal instructions of Jesus 
Christ — a teacher infinitely more wise and holy than 
Socrates — turned back and walked no more with him ; 
that they dishonoured their Christian profession by 
their apostacy, and brought a reproach on that hal- 
lowed name by which they were called ? Yet some 
there were of the disciples of Socrates, like Plato and 



ESSAY nr. 



SOCRATES. 



281 



Xenophon, who profited greatly by the early advan- 
tages afforded them, who clave with firm attachment 
to the guide of their youth, and who became the 
brightest ornaments of their country. Thus too w^e 
find that some of the chosen disciples of our Lord, 
though they acted for a time a far more cowardly part 
than Lysias or Crito, for, in the hour of danger, they 
basely forsook their Master and fled ; yet, being re- 
stored by his tender compassion, they adhered, with 
inflexible firmness and invincible courage, to his per- 
secuted cause ; they became its eloquent advocates ; 
they sealed it with their blood. 

Of all the persons celebrated in profane history, 
perhaps there is none who approached so near to the 
Christian character — none whose last end resembled 
so closely the death of a believer in Jesus, as that of 
Socrates. His life was a perpetual struggle — ^his 
doctrines an unceasing protest, against the crimes of 
his age. Like the patriarch Noah, he seems to have 
spent his days in preaching righteousness to a people, 
whose wickedness was great in the earth" — like 
just Lot, he seems to have been " vexed with the 
filthy conversation of the wicked." Like an infinitely 
more exalted and glorious Being, he is represented as 
looking with pity and love on sinners, whilst he re- 
proved, condemned, and hated their sins. 

His end was peaceful ; nor does it appear to have 
been that stoical composure of mind in which many of 
the heathens gloried, the hardihood of presumption and 
self-delusion — it was rather a tranquil serenity, that 
originated in a confident expectation of future blessed- 
ness. On what that expectation was founded, it is 
not for us to determine. In vain do we look for the 



282 HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK III. 



tokens of genuine repentance — for an acknowledg- 
ment of his exceeding sinfulness — ^for a testimony of 
his reliance upon divine mercy, rather than on his own 
merits. His last act was expressive of his adherence 
to the superstitious rites of his country. Yet how far 
his mind was enlightened on divine truth — how far he 
had received traditional notions of the Messiah, and 
of the Old Testament Scriptures — ^how far his heart 
was right with God, it is vain for us to conjecture — it 
would be impious to determine. Of this we are sure, 
that ** God is no respecter of persons, but in every 
nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteous- 
ness, is accepted with him^. " 

Cicero used to say, he could never read the narra- 
tive of the condemnation and death of Socrates with- 
out tears. But is there not much more to awaken 

* The following judicious remarks of the pious and excellent 
Rollin on the character and death of Socrates, are too important to 
be omitted here. " We cannot," he writes, *' deny Socrates to hav« 
been the hero of the Pag-an world, in regard to moral vii'tues. But 
to judge rightly of him, let us draw a parallel between this supposed 
hero and the martyrs of Christianity, who often were young children 
and tender virgins, and yet were not afraid to shed the last drop of 
their blood, to defend and confirm the same truths, which Socrates 
knew, without daring to assert in public. I mean, the unity of 
God and the vanity of idols. Let us also compare the so much 
boasted death of this prince of philosophers with that of our holy 
bishops, who have done the Christian religion so much honour by 
their sublimity of genius, the extent of their knowledge, and the 
beauty and excellence of their writings ; a St. Cyprian, a St. Au- 
gustin, and so many others who were all seen to die in the bosom of 
humility, fully convinced of their unworthiness and nothingness, 
penetrated with a lively fear of the judgments of God, and expecting 
their salvation from his sole goodness and condescending mercy. 
Philosophy inspires no such sentiments; they could proceed only 
from the grace of the Mediator, which, * we are taught to believe,' 
Socrates did not deserve to know." — Rollings Anc. Hist. vol. iv. 
p. 102. 



ESSAY III. SOCRATES. 283 

sympathy, to call forth tears of- godly sorrow, in the 
transactions of Gethsemane and Calvary ? There were 
many alleviating and consolatory circumstances in the 
situation of Socrates. He was surrounded by beloved 
and faithful friends, who administered every possible 
comfort — but the '* Redeemer trod the winepress of 
the wrath of God alone ! " He was forsaken and de- 
solate ! Betrayed by one of his own disciples, who, 
having been *'a familiar friend, that ate bread with 
him, treacherously lifted up his heel against him ! " 
The death of Socrates was comparatively honourable 
and easy, but that of the atoning Lamb of God was 
most ignominious and painful — the accursed death of 
the cross ! The sufferings of the Athenian philoso- 
pher were only corporeal, and even those light and 
transient — ^but the pains of the Apostle and High 
Priest of our profession were chiefly mental. His ** soul 
was exceedingly sorrowful even unto death ! " In the 
anguish of his spirit, he *' poured forth strong cries 
and tears," when being in an agony he thrice implored, 
" Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me ! 
How much rather should these unparalleled sufferings 
both of body and mind, sustained by the great Re- 
deemer in that awful hour, in which " he bare our 
sins and carried our sorrows," be contemplated with 
the deepest emotion by all his followers ! With what 
mingled sentiments of wonder and pity, gratitude and 
sorrow, should they "behold the Lamb of God, who 
took away the sin of the world." 



284 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



ESSAY IV. 

On the Conquests of Agesilaus and Conon, to the 
Peace of Antalcidas. 

FROM A. C. 396—387. 

On the death of Agis, Agesilaus ascended the throne 
of Sparta, chiefly through the influence of Lysander, 
to whom he was related. As he was not the presump- 
tive heir to the crown, his education had been con- 
ducted with that severity of discipline and rigid self- 
denial for which the Spartans were so remarkable. 
This was of no common advantage to him in the fu- 
ture pursuits of his enterprising life, which consisted 
of a continual series of labours, hardships, and priva- 
tions, and called into exercise all his Spartan prin- 
ciples and habits. Soon after Agesilaus was declared 
king, the chief command of the Greek forces in Asia 
was given to him, with full powers to employ them, 
as the honour or safety of Greece might require. In- 
telligence was received that Artaxerxes was preparing 
a formidable fleet for the purpose of depriving the 
Lacedaemonians of their maritime superiority. Agesi- 
laus hastened to counteract this design of the Persian 
monarch, by penetrating with a numerous and well- 
disciplined army into his richest provinces. But the 
treachery of Tissaphernes, of which such melancholy 
proof had been given in the retreat of the ten thou- 
sand, again imposed upon the unsuspecting integrity 
of the Greeks. That perfidious satrap prevailed upon 
Agesilaus to grant him a truce, under the pretence of 
expecting ambassadors from Susa to negotiate a peace, 



ESSAY IV. 



AGESILAUS. 



285 



but in reality to make preparations for war. Supplies 
had no sooner arrived, than the mask was thrown off, 
and heralds were despatched to command the Spartan 
general to quit Asia without delay. Provoked by this 
new act of treachery, Agesilaus took the field, and 
having made a feint of invading Caria, the favourite 
residence of Tissaphernes, suddenly poured all his 
strength into the opulent provinces of Phrygia and 
Lydia, where nothing opposed the progress of his 
victorious arms. After having ravaged and plundered 
these provinces, he returned to Ephesus, laden with 
spoil. In the mean time, the ill-success of Tissapher- 
nes encouraged his enemies at the court of Artaxerxes 
to raise a clamour against him, which led to his re- 
moval from office, and shortly after to his assassi- 
nation. The treachery which that false Persian had 
often employed for the destruction of others, was the 
instrument of his own ruin. Scarcely do the annals of 
the world contain a more hateful character than that of 
Tissaphernes, whose only ability consisted in prac- 
tising a thousand arts of hypocrisy, deceit, injustice, 
and perjury. 

The enterprising king of Sparta pursued his career 
of victory, and scattered, with ease, all the Persian 
forces that were collected against him. He passed 
from province to province, gathering new laurels and 
abundant spoils at every step. He made the great 
► monarch tremble for his personal safety in the heart 
of his own dominions. Many of the tributary islands 
and remoter provinces of the Persian empire embraced 
this favourable opportunity of throwing off the yoke. 
The only alternative which presented itself to the 
counsellors of Artaxerxes was to endeavour by large 



286 



HISTORY OP GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



subsidies, and diplomatic intrigue, to form a confe- 
deracy amongst the states of Greece against the 
Spartans. They well knew the ancient enmity of the 
Athenians against their successful rival, and the re- 
luctance with which they had submitted to the tyranny 
of the Lacedaemonians. They were not ignorant that 
similar feelings of resentment were cherished by the 
Corinthians, the Argives, and the Thebans. They lost 
no time, therefore, in forming these Grecian states 
into a powerful league, on the condition of placing the 
whole Persian fleet at their disposal, and furnishing 
them with all necessary supplies. 

A valuable agent now appeared, whose ardent pa- 
triotism, combined with the highest order of talents, 
in a short time turned the scale of victory. This was 
Conon, the Athenian general, whose defeat at iEgos- 
potamos had led to the destruction of the republic. 
Grieved beyond measure at the disgrace and misery 
which he had been the means of bringing on his coun- 
try, he lived in voluntary exile at Salamin, the capital 
of Cyprus, where the amiable and excellent Evagoras 
reigned. In this retirement he concerted with that 
patriotic prince the means of emancipating his beloved 
country from the Spartan yoke ; and, as the most pro- 
bable method of accomplishing his purpose, applied 
to Artaxerxes, through the medium of Ctesias, the 
physician. His application was most grateful to the 
Persian monarch, who appointed him and Pharna- 
bazus joint commanders of the Persian fleet. 

The Spartans took alarm at this formidable confe- 
deracy, and determined to recal Agesilaus from Asia, 
to undertake the defence of his own kingdom. With 
the utmost promptitude he obeyed the call of the 



ESSAY IV. AGESILAUS AND CONON. 287 

ephori, though it arrived at the moment in v^rhich he 
was undertaking the invasion of Persia, v^ith the most 
flattering prospect of success. Inured by education to 
prompt obedience and self-denial, he renounced w^ith- 
out a murmur the most towering expectations, when 
the prize of ambition seemed almost within his grasp. 
Whilst he was on his return to Greece, the Persian and 
Spartan fleets met at Cnidos, the former commanded 
by Conon, the latter by Pisander who was nearly related 
to Agesilaus. Conon was urged to deeds of valour by 
the remembrance of former disgrace, Pisander by the 
desire of proving himself worthy of his illustrious re- 
lative. But Athenian skill finally prevailed over Spartan 
valour. Fifty Lacedasmonian galleys were taken, and 
Pisander himself was killed in battle. This was the 
first fatal blow received by Sparta, from the effects of 
which that ambitious republic never recovered. It 
was followed by a general revolt of the colonies and 
tributary allies of Lacedaemon. 

Soon after, the sanguinary battle of Coronaea was 
fought between the Spartans under Agesilaus, and the 
allied Greeks, consisting chiefly of Thebans and Ar- 
gives. Xenophon, who was present, has left on record 
the most tremendous description of this furious con- 
flict; which, accustomed as he was to scenes of blood, 
he pronounced the most destructive and desperate he 
had ever witnessed. In this engagement Agesilaus 
received several wounds, and his armour was repeat- 
edly shattered by the lances of the Theban phalanx. 
Victory at length decided in his favour. After having 
paid due honours to the slain, he hastened to Delphos, 
though covered with wounds, to offer sacrifices, and 
present costly gifts to the Pythian Apollo. 



288 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



Conon followed up his victory at Cnidos by a pro- 
position to Artaxerxes to rebuild the walls and har- 
bours of Athens ; a measure which would enable the 
ancient rival of Sparta to make a stand against the 
pride and power of that haughty republic. So con- 
vinced was the Persian king of the policy of the 
measure, that he readily furnished artificers and 
money. The work proceeded with so much zeal and 
diligence, that it was completed before the Spartans 
were apprized of its commencement. When they re- 
ceived the mortifying intelligence that the fortifi- 
cations which Lysander had demolished in triumph, 
were rebuilt with increased strength and splendour, 
they were deeply affected, and resolved to purchase 
the friendship of Persia at any price. Antalcidas 
was despatched to the court of Persia, to propose con- 
ditions of peace, which they well knew would be ac- 
ceptable to her monarch. It was proposed to resign 
all pretensions to the Greek cities in Asia, which were 
henceforth to be annexed to the Persian empire ; and 
to declare all the cities and islands of Greece inde- 
pendent of each other ; a measure which by dividing, 
would weaken them, and render them incapable in 
future of disturbing the peace of Persia." The ambi- 
tious views of Conon and Thrasybulus had alarmed 
the Persian monarch, and induced him to accede to a 
negotiation, which was most humiliating to Greece, 
but most advantageous to Persia. Thus did the selfish 
policy of Sparta, and the restless ambition of the Athe- 
nians, frustrate the designs which had been steadily 
kept in view for more than a century, when those ob- 
jects were almost within their grasp, namely, to hum- 
ble the pride of Persia, and to establish the freedom 



ESSAY IV. 



AGESILAUS AND GONON. 



289 



of their Ionian brethren . Mutual jealousies prevented 
them on both sides from reaping the fruits of victory, 
and induced them to strengthen the common enemy, 
in order the more effectually to weaken and destroy 
each other. 

Xenoph. Hellen. lib. 3 et 4. Plut. in Vit. Agesil. Diodor. Sicul. 
lib. 14. 

REFLECTIONS. 

The character of Agesilaus forms a pleasing contrast 
to those of Pausanias and Lysander. Intoxicated by 
the cup of prosperity, they became too haughty to 
suffer any restraint ; they fancied themselves elevated, 
by their successes, above the laws of their country, 
whose interests they would have betrayed and trodden 
in the dust, to advance their own glory. But Agesilaus 
in the midst of equal, if not more splendid, triumphs — 
after several most successful campaigns — exhibited a 
disinterestedness of character, rarely seen amongst 
statesmen and warriors — sl chastened and subdued 
mind — a prompt obedience to the laws, even when 
they seemed most to militate against his personal 
glory. It is a pleasing, though a very unusual, spec- 
tacle, to see prosperity and humility walking hand in 
hand — to observe the illustrious and honourable 
amongst mankind, sinking in their own esteem, in 
proportion as their reputation rises, or their wealth 
and power increase — to behold an intimate alliance 
formed between authority and obedience, between 
external splendour and inward abasement. This can 
only be produced by the vital influence of undissembled 
piety, which is not only able to preserve from the 
dangers of prosperity, but will render it a real blessing, 

u 



290 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



by teaching its possessors to honour the Lord with 
their substance, and with the first-fruits of all their 
increase; to deny themselves, take up their cross, 
and follow the Redeemer." 

The patriotic feeling which inspired the breast of 
Conon, and called forth all his energies, was, in itself, 
highly commendable ; but the means he employed to 
accomplish his patriotic wishes were without excuse. 
It is impossible to view, without the deepest interest, 
that illustrious Athenian living in voluntary exile, 
bewailing the calamities of his country, and longing 
for an opportunity of exerting himself on her behalf ; 
but it is equally impossible to see him at the court of 
Artaxerxes, humbly supplicating aid from that im- 
perious enemy of Greece ; to see him fighting under 
the banners of Persia against his Spartan brethren ; 
to see the walls and citadels of Athens rising by means 
of Persian wealth, and through the favour of the great 
king, without indignation at the degraded character 
of the Athenians, and at the venality of Conon's pa- 
triotism. What would his independent ancestors, 
who bled on the plains of Marathon and Plataea, have 
said to this degenerate son, and to the no less dege- 
nerate character of the republic. Excellent as pa- 
triotism is, it ought never to form a pretext for injus- 
tice . The love of our country should ever be subordinate 
to the love of equity and uprightness. Moral principle 
ought to maintain at all times, and under all circum- 
stances, an unyielding superiority to national feeling, 
and even to the tenderest sympathies of nature. 

The consequence of this deviation from the line of 
rectitude and integrity, was, as might have been ex- 
pected, disgrace. The splendour which surrounded 



ESSAY IV. 



AGESILAUS AND CONON. 



291 



the Spartan republic during the rapid conquests of 
Agesilaus, and the renascent fame of Athens under 
the auspices of Conon, were but as a transient gleam, 
ending in " darkness that might be felt." The dis- 
honourable peace of Antalcidas soon extinguished 
their fading glory, and accelerated their final over- 
throw. It is thus that ill-gotten wealth takes to 
itself wings and flies away — thus that unjust authority 
crumbles with a touch — thus that the honour, which 
men receive one of another, fades and withers, like 
the flower of the grass. There is a peace that is far 
more disgraceful and dangerous than a state of open 
warfare — a peace that is the surest token of perdi- 
tion. Such is the security of the habitual trans- 
gressor — ^the vain and delusive confidence of the cha- 
racter, who reposes on the margin of the tremendous 
precipice, to which his sinful passions have driven 
him, crying to himself, peace, peace, while sudden 
destruction cometh. For there is no peace, saith my 
God, to the wicked." 



ESSAY V. 

On the Theban War, from its Commencement to the 
Battle of Leuctra. 

FROM A.C. 383—371. 

Hitherto the rival republics of Athens and Lace- 
daemon had divided the sovereignty of Greece. All the 
lesser states, instead of asserting their independent 
rights, had been content to seek shelter under the 
fostering wing of one or other of these powerful com- 

U 2 



292 



HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK III. 



monwealths. Even the flourishing provinces of Argos 
and Corinth, after several ineffectual efforts to throw 
off the yoke, had found it necessary to become the de- 
pendant allies, if they would not be the abject vassals, 
of these ambitious governments. The peace of Antal- 
cidas, which verbally stipulated for the independence 
of all the Grecian republics, in effect sold the weak 
into the hands of the strong, and rendered them the 
easy prey of a tyrannical people, ever jealous of their 
own liberties, and ever ready, on the slightest pre- 
text, to invade those of others. 

But we have now arrived at a period of Grecian 
history, in which the proud sovereignty of Sparta was * 
indignantly rejected by a people, whom the Lacedae- 
monians had been accustomed to despise. The Boeo- 
tians, and especially those of them who were citizens 
of Thebes, had been long proverbial in Greece as an 
ignoble race, fit only for corporeal labours and athletic 
exercises — but entirely destitute of moral and intel- 
lectual excellence. The unrivalled Pindar was con- 
sidered the only exception to this merited reproach. 
But this inactive people were now to shake them- 
selves from the dust. Awakened by the patriotic call 
of two youthful citizens, they aspired to deeds of va- 
lour, equal, if not superior, to any which Greece had 
ever witnessed. The names of these Theban patriots, 
who were brethren, but not rivals, in glory, were 
Pelopidas and Epaminondas. 

Immediately after the above-mentioned dishonour- 
able treaty with Persia had been ratified by the Spar- 
tans, the latter began to attack their defenceless 
neighbours. Mantinaea was the first object of assault. 
The senate of Sparta sent ambassadors to command 



ESSAY V. PELOPIDAS AND EPAMINONDAS. 



293 



the Mantinseans to dismantle their well-fortified city, 
and disperse themselves as formerly, amongst their 
villages and plains. The mandate was disobeyed, till 
an army wbls sent to enforce and carry into execution 
this unjust decree. The little republic of Philius, and 
the more formidable Olynthian confederacy, w^ere next 
subjugated by Sparta. Emboldened by these suc- 
cesses, it was proposed to rob the Boeotians and The- 
bans of their liberties. This was accomplished partly 
by intrigue, (for they succeeded in gaining over Leon- 
tidas, one of the chief magistrates of Thebes,) and 
partly by treachery ; for Phoebidas, one of the generals 
of Sparta, was admitted into the city, under colour of 
friendship, with 1500 chosen troops, who instantly 
seized the cadmaea, or citadel, and enslaved its unsus- 
pecting inhabitants. 

In the mean time, the noble youths who have been 
already mentioned, were very differently affected by 
the event. The high-spirited Pelopidas, finding re- 
sistance vain, and unable to brook the indignities 
offered by the Spartan usurpers, withdrew to Athens, 
together with many of his fellow-citizens, who pre- 
ferred exile to bondage. But Epaminondas resigned 
himself to literary pursuits, and spent his days in 
studying the Pythagorean philosophy, under Lysis, 
with unremitting ardour. — By that preceptor he was 
taught to contemn wealth — ^to suppress ambition — to 
glory in virtuous poverty — and to aim rather at being 
useful than great. Thus, in tranquil literary retire- 
ment, did this distinguished youth pass away the five 
years of oppression, during which his native city 
groaned under the yoke of Sparta. The impatient 
spirit of Pelopidas could be no longer restrained. 



294 



HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK III. 



Fired by the example, and encouraged by the success 
of Thrasybulus*, he panted to be the deliverer of his 
oppressed country. A secret correspondence was car- 
ried on between the exiles and some of the disaffected 
citizens of Thebes, in which a plan was proposed 
which, after many difficulties, alarms, and dangers, 
proved completely successful. The ardent Pelopidas, 
whose conduct and courage were alike conspicuous, 
entered the city, at first, with only twelve of his asso- 
ciates, disguised as peasants. Yet this small band 
ventured, on the same night, to attack the sanguinary 
usurpers in the midst of their revels, and having put 
them to the sword, unfurled the standard of liberty. 
Thousands flocked around it, and vowed to defend it 
with their swords, or perish in the attempt. An inci- 
dent, in connexion with this revolution, deserves par- 
ticular notice, on account of the moral instruction it 
conveys. Just before the conspirators set out in search 
of the tyrants, a courier arrived from Athens with 
despatches to Archias, who was one of the most fero- 
cious of those tyrants. That magistrate was at a ban- 
quet, when the letter was delivered to him by the 
messenger, accompanied with an intimation that it 
contained intelligence of the utmost importance. But 
the deluded sensualist threw it aside, saying, ** Busi- 
ness to-morrow." It proved that the letter contained 
a full disclosure of the conspiracy, his fatal indifiference 
to which cost him his life. 

Epaminondas hastened from his study to the banner 
of Pelopidas, eager to welcome the beloved friend of 
his youth, and desirous of assisting him with his 
counsel and sword. By the united efforts of these ge- 

* See Book III. Essay 1. 



ESSAY V. PELOPIDAS AND EPAMINONDAS. 



295 



nerous youths, the tumult was soon appeased, and 
order restored; the garrison, consisting of 1500 Spar- 
tan soldiers, surrendered at discretion, and the an- 
cient government of Thebes was re-established. But 
they were well convinced that the struggle was not 
over. They anticipated the speedy arrival of a nu- 
merous army from Laconia, breathing revenge and 
burning with indignation, for which it therefore be- 
came them to make immediate and vigorous prepara- 
tions. The first object was to secure the friendship 
and aid of the Athenians, in which they succeeded by 
stratagem. The emissaries of Thebes prevailed upon 
Sphodrias, the commander of a Spartan garrison at 
Thespiae, to make an unsuccessful attempt to seize 
the Athenian harbour of Piraeus ; a measure which 
so exasperated the republicans, that they immediately 
declared war against the Lacedaemonians. Agesilaus 
tarnished his former honours by several efforts to in- 
vade Boeotia, in all of which he was repelled with 
considerable loss ; whilst the enemy gained strength, 
and skill, and confidence in their generals, by the fre- 
quent skirmishes that had taken place. After Agesi- 
laus returned to Sparta, to recover from his fatigue 
and wounds, the contest was carried on by Phoebidas, 
who was killed in the battle of Tanagra, by the hand 
of Pelopidas himself. A second more complete vic- 
tory was gained by the Thebans over a superior num- 
ber of Spartans at Tegyra ; a disgrace which had 
never before attached to the Lacedaemonian arms. 

An attempt was shortly afterwards made by Arta- 
xerxes to conciliate the contending states of Greece, 
by urging the conditions of the treaty of Antalcidas. 
A congress was held for that purpose, to which Epa- 



296 



HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK III- 



minondas was sent as deputy for Thebes, who proved, 
by his eloquent representations of the injuries and just 
claims of his country, no less skilful in council than 
in war. But so deep were the resentments of the 
Lacedaemonians against the Tliebans, that, whilst all 
differences between the other states were soon accom- 
modated, it was found impossible to include these 
powers in the general pacification. Anxious to wipe 
off the reproach which had befallen them, the Spar- 
tans sent an army, consisting of all their veteran 
legions, under the command of Cleombrotus, to the 
Boeotian frontier. The army consisted of 24,000 foot 
and 1600 horse. The Theban army, which advanced 
to meet them on the plain of Leuctra, consisted of 
little more than half that number. It is not necessary 
to insert here a detailed account of the memorable 
battle of Leuctra, in which the pre-eminent genius 
and unrivalled military talents of Epaminondas were 
signally displayed, in which the most desperate valour 
was evinced on both sides, and in which the crown of 
Sparta was trodden in the dust. Cleombrotus fell in 
the midst of the engagement, covered with wounds, 
and surrounded by the dead bodies of thousands of his 
guards. The victory on the part of the Thebans was 
most decisive ; since, after the engagement, the Spar- 
tans were reduced to the necessity of craving permis- 
sion to bury their dead. 

The conduct of the citizens of Sparta, on being in- 
formed of the melancholy issue of this battle, was 
strictly conformable to the principles and laws of Ly- 
curgus. The parents and relatives of those who had 
fallen in the engagement appeared in public with a 
cheerful countenance, crowned with garlands, as those 



ESSAY V. B.\TTLE OF LEUCTRA. 



297 



who celebrated a triumph — ^whilst the relatives of 
those who survived, either shut themselves up, or ap- 
peared in deep mourning, as those who had sustained 
the most dreadful loss; evidently intending by this 
public act to proclaim to the world, that though fallen, 
they were Spartans still, who lamented the loss of 
their honour much more than that of their lives. 

Xenoph. Hellen. lib. 5 et 6. Diodor. Sicul. lib. 15. Plut. in 
Vit. Ag-esil. et Pelop. 



REFLECTIONS. 

The history, both of nations and individuals, affords 
many striking examples of unexpected reverses of con- 
dition, in consequence of which, " those that were 
first became last, and the last first." In these rapid 
transitions, many can discern nothing but the results 
of human wisdom or power. They would ascribe the 
events, which have just been narrated, solely to the 
talents and exertions of the two Theban youths, who 
were the principal agents in accomplishing them. To ^ 
Pelopidas and Epaminondas alone, they would give 
the praise of emancipating their country from a fo- 
reign yoke, and bringing down the pride of Sparta. 
But christian principles will lead to a different con- 
clusion, and constrain all Whose minds are deeply 
imbued with them, to acknowledge the hand of the 
Omnipotent Sovereign of the Universe, in all the 
revolutions of states and empires, and in all the suc- 
cesses or disasters of war. They will produce a con- 
viction, that whoever may be the agents etnployed^ or 
whatever the machinery used for the purpose, it is the 



298 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK 111. 



prerogative of Jehovah alone " to build up and pull 
down — to save and destroy ;" and that all these his 
mighty operations are regulated by infinite vrisdom 
and boundless mercy. Thus w^ill they tend to recon- 
cile the mind to the most trying dispensations of Pro- 
vidence, and cherish a quiet submission to the divine 
w^ill, amidst surrounding calamities and desolations. 

Amongst the means which the Great Supreme has 
Seen fit to employ, by which to abase the pride of 
nations, it has been frequently seen that base and con- 
temptible instruments are raised up from obscurity 
for this purpose. It would have been deemed a most 
incredible prediction, if any one had foretold, a short 
time before the battle of Leuctra, that the valiant 
Spartans would flee before the sluggish Boeotians, or 
that the despicable Thebans would rival in military 
skill the most experienced warriors of Greece — if any 
had ventured to predict that the city of Thebes would 
pour forth an invincible band, that would penetrate 
to the walls of Sparta, and pluck the laurels from the 
brow of her most victorious prince. Yet thus it is 
that the King of kings and Lord of lords destroys 
the wisdom of the wise, and brings to nought the un- 
derstanding of the prudent. So does he cause the 
foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and 
the weak things of the world to confound the things 
w^hich are mighty ; and base things of the world, and 
things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and 
things wrhich are not, to bring to nought things that 
are: that no flesh should glory in his presence." 
1 Cor. i. 27—29. 

Eminent as were the talents of the Theban generals, 
and signal as was the valour of their armed legions, it 



ESSAY V. 



BATTLE OP LEUCTRA. 



299 



must be admitted, that tlieir success was chiefly owing 
to the justice of their cause, and the enthusiasm which 
that cause inspired. So long as Sparta was employed 
in defending her own liberties, and those of Greece, she 
was invincible; but when she embarked in the un- 
righteous cause of oppression and tyranny, her most 
skilful generals, and her bravest warriors could not pre- 
serve her from disgrace. So do the consciousness of 
right motives, and ardour in the pursuit of virtuous ob- 
j ects , frequently inspire a courage which nothing can re- 
sist ; while the mercenary slave of guilt is alarmed at 
the first approach of danger, and shrinks from the sight 
of his feeblest adversary. *' The wicked flee when none 
pursueth, but the righteous is as bold as a lion." 

The conduct of the Spartan citizens, after their army 
had been defeated at Leuctra, conveys important in- 
struction. It teaches us that there are objects which 
should be far dearer to us than life, and whose loss is 
incomparably more to be dreaded, than death in its 
most terrific form. This inestimable treasure, in the 
opinion of the heathen world, was, glory, — or rather 
a visionary phantom, to which that name was given. 
But how much more valuable is " the prize of our high 
calling!" Of how much greater price is that glory, 
honour, and immortality," for which we are to con- 
tend ! What is the transient vapour of human life — 
what are the shadowy joys of sense and sin — com- 
pared to this unfading and imperishable crown of 
glory ? Happy they who secure this heavenly treasure, 
though it be with the loss of all temporal good ; but 
what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, 
and lose his own soul ! " 

Would to God that the thoughtless procrastinator, 



300 HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK III. 

who continually defers till the uncertain morrow, the 
all-important business of to-day, might be convinced of 
the folly and danger of his conduct, by the melancholy 
end of Archias ! Immersed in sensual pleasures or 
worldly cares, alas ! how many reply to the messengers 
of peace, who urge them to " seek first the kingdom 
of God," ** Business to-morrow and still repeat the 
same fearful delusion from day to day, till the decree 
go forth, " Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be 
required of thee ! " 



ESSAY VI. 
The Character and Death of Pelopidas and Epami- 

NONDAS. 

THE former died A. C. 353. THE LATTER, 

A. C. 362. 

The consequences of the battle of Leuctra were most 
calamitous to the Spartans. No longer considered 
invincible, a disposition to revolt manifested itself in 
almost all their colonies ; and many of the lesser states 
of Greece forsook a power, which seemed no longer 
able to afford them protection. Their Theban con- 
querors, on the other hand, acquired strength daily. 
Their alliance was sought by many who had formerly 
despised them. Besides Jason, the prince of Thessaly, 
who was a sincere and powerful ally — and the Arca- 
dians, who were bound in gratitude to Epaminon- 
das, for having liberated them from the yoke of Sparta 
-^the Phocians, the Locrians, the Acarnanians, and the 
Euboeans, joined the Theban confederacy. By these 
new auxiliaries, the army, under the joint command of 



ESSAY VI. PELOPIDAS AND EPAMINONDAS. 301 



Pelopidas and Epaminondas, was greatly increased, 
and became so formidable as to threaten the very ex- 
istence of Sparta. 

The Lacedaemonians perceived the urgent necessity 
of seeking foreign assistance, and mortifying as the 
alternative was, they were reduced to the necessity of 
soliciting those succours from Athens. It had uniformly 
been the line of policy adopted by the Athenians, to re- 
sist ^very state, whose increasing prosperity rendered 
it formidable to the rest of Greece. On this ground, 
they had not been indifferent spectators of the Theban 
war. They had viewed with jealousy the growing 
influence and military glory of that republic. They 
had sickened with envy at beholding the laurels of 
Epaminondas, who, though a youth, had accomplished, 
in one short campaign, what their ablest generals had 
not been able to effect during a struggle of twenty-seven 
years. Many arguments, therefore, were not necessary 
to induce them to send an army into Laconia, to co- 
operate with the Spartans, under Agesilaus. To the 
prudence and valour of that prince, the Lacedaemonians 
owed their preservation, when their borders were in- 
vaded, their country ravaged, their cities occupied, and 
their capital besieged by a numerous Theban army, un- 
der the conduct of a most skilful and persevering com- 
mander. By avoiding a general engagement, and ad- 
hering strictly to a judicious plan of self-defence, Age- 
silaus wearied out, and finally repulsed, the invading 
foe. Epaminondas withdrew from Laconia, by way of 
Corinth, and having inflicted a severe chastisement on 
that republic, for former injuries, returned to Thebes, 
at the }iead of his victorious troops-r-^an army which 



302 HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK III. 

had made even the warlike descendants of Lycurgus 
tremble within their own capital. 

It might have been reasonably expected that the con- 
querors would have been hailed with joyful acclama- 
tions, and received with affectionate embraces. But 
instead of this, scarcely had they entered the city, when 
they were summoned to appear before the tribunal of 
their country, and take their trial for what was deemed 
a capital offence. They were publicly accused of having 
retained the command of the army four months longer 
than the limited time, in violation of the laws of the 
republic. Pelopidas was so deeply wounded by the in- 
gratitude of his fellow-citizens, and so indignant at 
their base conduct, that he refused to utter a word in 
his o^n defence ; but Epaminondas pleaded for himself 
and his colleague with such modest dignity, that his ac- 
cusers were covered with shame, and an honourable 
acquittal was obtained. Both the judges, and the nu- 
merous assembly, collected on the occasion, crowned 
the patriotic chiefs with triumphal chaplets, in ho- 
nour of their recent and splendid victories. 

Shortly after this event, Jason, the faithful friend 
and ally of the Thebans, was assassinated in his palace, 
and the vacant throne of Thessaly was usurped by 
Alexander, the sanguinary tyrant of Pherae. This mon- 
ster, in human form (for no other title can be given 
him) practised the most horrid barbarities on his sub- 
jects, or rather slaves, without regard to sex, age, or 
condition. The generous Pelopidas commiserated the 
wretched state of the Thessalians, and, with the hope 
of taming this ferocious despot, repaired to the court of 
Alexander, in the character of ambassador from Thebes. 



ESSAY VI. 



DEATH OF PELOPIDAS. 



303 



But neither his official character nor his personal dig- 
nity were regarded by the unprincipled tyrant. He 
was seized, and immured in a dungeon, at his first ar- 
rival ; nor did any thing, but a dread of the vengeance 
of the Thebans, prevent Alexander from satiating his 
appetite with the blood of his illustrious captive. The 
intrepid Theban braved the utmost fury of the tyrant, 
and, preferring death to bondage, endeavoured by 
every expression of defiance, and every kind of provo- 
cation, to incense his cruel oppressor. But every at- 
tempt was vain, and many lingering days and nights 
of dreary captivity passed heavily along. His melan- 
choly condition was, indeed, in some degree, allevi- 
ated by the tender sympathy and soothing attentions 
of Thebe, whose unhappy lot it was to be the wife of 
this cruel tyrant. 

In the mean time, Epaminondas was called from the 
private station, which he had occupied with perfect 
contentment, since his return to Thebes, to conduct 
an army to Thessaly, for the express purpose of rescu- 
ing from captivity his beloved friend. No task more 
grateful to his feelings could have been assigned him. 
By the mere terror of his name, he compelled the ty- 
rant to propose terms of submission ; the first article of 
which, was the emancipation of Pelopidas. Prompted 
partly by resentment of personal injuries, partly by 
compassion for the oppressed Thessalians, and partly 
by a desire to avenge his insulted country, Pelopidas 
was no sooner at large, than he prepared to assail the 
tyrant in his own dominions. The Theban and Thes- 
salian armies met, and fought with great obstinacy, 
at Cynocephalus. — The victory was complete on the 
part of the Thebans, but it was dearly purchased; for 



304 



HISTORY OY GREPeE. 



BOOK III. 



Pelopidas, in the ardour of youth, rushed forward into 
the thickest ranks of the enemy, and, having rashly 
exposed himself to overwhelming numbers, fell be- 
neath a shower of darts. 

The malignant joy of Alexander, on being informed 
of the death of Pelopidas, was very transient. He was 
shortly afterwards murdered in his bed, by the three 
brothers of Thebe, who was unable longer to endure 
his cruelties, and urged them to perpetrate the deed. 
His lifeless body was exposed to public view, dragged 
through the streets of the city by the enraged multi- 
tude, trodden under foot, and, finally, devoured by 
dogs. His memory was execrated by all, and continues 
to be branded with perpetual infamy. 

But far different were the sentiments excited by the 
early death of Pelopidas, for he was yet in the bloom of 
youth, and seemed to be just entering on a career of 
glory. The army bitterly lamented his loss, and vied 
with the citizens of Thebes in expressions of regret, 
of respect, and almost of adoration. Every kind of 
honour which they could devise was paid to the de- 
parted chief, who was justly esteemed the restorer of 
their ancient constitution, and the protector of their 
liberties. His valour had contributed greatly to the 
power and prosperity of Thebes ; his mild and prudent 
administration, during the thirteen successive years in 
which he had been chosen governor of Boeotia, had 
gained the affections and confidence of the people: 
his attachment to Epaminondas had tended greatly to 
strengthen his interest with his fellow-citizens, and 
served to endear his memory. It was, with truth, af- 
firmed, when Pelopidas expired, One of the lights 
of Thebes is put out. " 



ESSAY VI. DEATH OF EPAMINONDAS. 



305 



Nor was it long ere her only remaining luminary was 
extinguished. The war between Thebes and Sparta, 
which had languished for several years, broke out 
afresh ; great preparations were made on both sides ; 
the veteran, Agesilaus, who had spent almost fourscore 
years in military pursuits, was opposed to the skilful 
and victorious Epaminondas; everything augured a 
tremendous struggle, which must prove fatal to one 
or both of the assailants. Each combatant was fully 
conscious of the strength and resolution of his antago- 
nist, and proceeded with the utmost caution. The 
most consummate generalship was displayed on either 
part. Alternate advantages were reaped, and alter- 
nate repulses suffered by the contending powers. 

At length, a general engagement took place at Man- 
tinaea, by mutual consent. A minute detail of this me- 
morable conflict, an exact description of the disposition 
and arrangement of both armies, a faithful but heart- 
rending representation of the field of battle, may be 
found in many histories of Greece, both ancient and 
modern. To these, the reader, whose imagination pre- 
fers to dwell on such scenes, is referred. All that it is 
necessary to state here is, that, in the midst of the dire- 
ful contest, Epaminondas received a mortal wound ; 
the desperate valour of his troops brought him off the 
field, and afforded him the satisfaction of knowing that 
Thebes had conquered, before he expired. The last 
words he uttered were, in reply to one of his friends, 
who lamented his untimely death, without leaving any 
issue: " Yes," replied the dying warrior, I have left 
two fair daughters, the victories of Leuctra and Man- 
tinaea." 

Epaminondas was unquestionably the most distin- 



306 



HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK III. 



guished character of his day. He was alike eminent as 

a philosopher, a statesman, and a general ; exemplary 

both in private and public life. His habits were frugal, 

industrious, and self-denying, not from necessity, but 

choice ; they were the result of principles imbibed in 

early youth, and practised through life with undeviating 

constancy. He was neither desirous of wealth or fame, 

on his own account ; and manifested a willingness, on 

all occasions, to sacrifice both for the welfare of his 

country. Never was there a more inflexible patriot, or 

a more incorruptible statesman. With him, and his 

illustrious colleague, the transient splendour of Thebes 

both rose and set ; its political influence, under their 

auspices, grew up, flourished, and decayed. 

Plut. in Vit. Agesil. et Pelopid. Xenoph. Hellen. lib. 6. Corn. 
Nep. in Vit. Epaminond. Diodor. Sicul. lib. 15. Pausan. in Bceot. 
Messen. et Lacon. 



REFLECTIONS. 

In preceding essays we have seen Sparta, in all her 
glory, triumphing over the mightiest monarchs, and 
giving laws to dependent empires. Then all were ready 
to do her homage — the greater part of the Grecian 
states sought her favour and protection — her nu- 
merous colonies firmly adhered to her interests : 
but we now see her humble, depressed and vanquished 
— despoiled of the wreath of honour which had long 
decorated her brow, and deprived of the rod of power 
which had graced her hand — deserted by those who 
professed the warmest friendship, and compelled to 
solicit help from those whom she had despised and 
hated. What is this but a true picture of human life? 
Thus are the wealthy, the powerful, and the prosperous 
flattered aiid caressed, their favour courted, their pro- 



ESSAY VI. PELOPIDAS AND EPAMINONDAS. 307 

tection sought ; and thus, too, does the first blast of 
adversity scatter like chaff the train of interested 
friends, and venal dependants, by whom they were 
surrounded! When the day of evil comes, how desti- 
tute are they who have no support, but that which can 
be derived from an arm of flesh ! 

The history of all nations, like that which we are 
contemplating, is but the description of one continued 
struggle for pre-eminence and power. It was this that 
armed Athens against Sparta, and Thebes against 
both. It is this that still arms man against his fel- 
low-man, and enkindles the fires of war amongst 
nations. From when sin first entered into the world, 
this evil has not only existed, but prevailed — nor will 
it cease to operate, till sin shall for ever cease. But if 
the genius of Christianity were better understood, and 
the precepts of the Gospel more practically regarded, 
however frequent such struggles might be in the 
worlds they would never disgrace the Church of God. 
The disciples of Christ would vie with each other in 
humility, not in pride, and in a disposition to minister 
rather than to rule ; the greatest amongst them would 
gladly become the servant of all. 

Ingratitude to man is hateful, but how much more 
to the Father of Mercies ! The generous and feel- 
ing mind recoils from a scene like that of the 
Theban chiefs, arraigned, tried, and on the point 
of being unjustly condemned to death, by those 
whom they had emancipated from bondage, and for 
whom they had freely hazarded their lives. But 
shall we not much rather turn that indignation 
upon ourselves, while the series of our ungrateful and 
rebellious actions are reviewed, committed against 

X 2 



308 



HISTORY OP GREECE. BOOK III. 



Him that has led and fed us all our days " — against 
Him that has continually laden us with blessings — 
and, especially, against Him that has " redeemed us 
to God by his blood ! " If the sin of ingratitude be ex- 
ecrated, and the character who practises it detested by 
all mankind, when a human benefactor alone is con- 
cerned, shall not the consciousness of having thus 
offended against the Most High, much more constrain 
us to abhor ourselves, and repent in dust and ashes ?" 

Amongst the many fearful examples of retributive 
justice, written for our warning in the volume of 
Divine Providence, scarcely can one be found more 
remarkable or more impressive than the death of the 
tyrant of Pherge. While the perpetrators of the deed 
must be condemned as murderers and assassins, laden 
with the guilt of blood — on the awful event itself was 
distinctly impressed the finger of God. It was mani- 
fest that the Righteous Judge was " making inquisi- 
tion for blood;" the voice of Jehovah was heard, 
proclaiming, ''Vengeance is mine, I will recompense." 
When thus "the wicked are driven away in their 
wickedness," (sometimes by sudden and overwhelming 
calamities, and sometimes by an invisible but resist- 
less hand,) heathens and infidels may call it chance ; 
but conscience, enlightened by the word of truth, testi- 
fies, " How terrible art thou in thy judgments, O Lord 
God ! Who would not fear thee, O King of nations !" 

The preceding narrative records the death of two 
amiable, and, comparatively, virtuous youths, who 
expired on what is commonly called, the bed of honour. 
But when we separate from the representation of the 
dying warrior, the circumstances that tend to make a 
false impression upon the mind — when we shut out 



ESSAY VI. PELOPIDAS AND EPAMINONDAS. 309 



the glare of martial glory — and view him only as an 
immortal being, passing from the tumultuous field of 
battle to the dread tribunal — how melancholy is the 
scene ! Who, that has formed any just conceptions of 
the solemnity of death, and considers himself an heir 
of immortality, would wish, like Epaminondas, to 
gather his latest consolations from the remembrance 
of former deeds of valour, or spend his last breath in 
exulting over his conquered foes ? Not such was the 
temper of Jesus when he expired^ — not such were his 
dying accents, who, both in life and death, ^« left us 
an example that we should follow his steps." 



t ESSAY VII. 

On the general Affairs of Greece, during the Reign of 
Philip, King o/Macedon. 

FROM A. C. 361— 336. 

The death of Epaminondas was followed by a gene" 
ral peace, in which all the Grecian states, except Lace- 
daemon, were included. So long as Agesilaus reigned, 
it was impossible that Sparta, however weakened and 
disgraced, should enjoy rest. The enterprising mind 
of that prince continually inspired the senate and peo- 
ple with new hopes, and opened to them new prospects 
of success. Though upwards of eighty years of age, he 
embarked, with all the ardour of youth, in a remote 
and hazardous undertaking, the object of which was to 
assist Tachos, the king of Egypt, in an enterprise 
against Persia. On his return from this expedition, he 
died in Lybia, a desert part of the coast of Africa, after 



It 



310 HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK III. 

having occupied the throne of Sparta forty years, the 
most eventful and adverse in the history of that re- 
public. 

A character novr appeared in a remote province of 
Greece, v^^ho vras destined by the Ruler of nations to 
lay the foundation of a new empire, v^hich should be 
built upon the ruins of Grecian liberty. This was 
Philip, a younger son of Amyntas, late king of Mace- 
don. When about eighteen years of age, this prince 
was committed to Pelopidas, as a hostage, by Perdic- 
cas, his elder brother, who then reigned in Macedonia. 
Here he became attached to Epaminondas, whose cha- 
racter he studied attentively, and, as far as his love 
of pleasure would permit, imitated. From him, the 
Macedonian prince received both maxims of philo- 
sophy and lessons on the art of war, in which that 
celebrated Theban was so perfect a master : the former 
of these branches of education taught him to control 
his passions, and the latter enabled him, ultimately, 
to conquer and enslave Greece. 

Soon after the death of his admired preceptor, Philip 
was called to succeed his brother Perdiccas, in the 
government of Macedon. The circumstances under 
which he ascended the throne were peculiarly unfa- 
vourable, and rendered his task most difficult. The 
kingdom was surrounded by foreign adversaries, and 
rent asunder by intestine divisions. Its finances had 
been completely exhausted by the Illyrian war, and 
the Macedonian army had been almost annihilated. 
Yet Philip was not discouraged, for he had lately seen 
a republic rising, under the auspices of an individual, 
from the lowest state of degradation, to the pinnacle 
of glory and power. He had observed, with the most 



ESSAY VII. PHILIP OF MACEDON. 



311 



diligent attention, the steps by which this political 
transformation had been effected, and resolved to 
pursue the same track. With consummate address he 
settled the differences that related to the regal suc- 
cession, till every competitor was set aside, and his 
own claim established. He then proceeded to new- 
model the constitution, re-organize the army, and re- 
plenish the public treasury. By bribes, concessions, or 
bold and vigorous movements, he induced the enemies 
who threatened his kingdom to retire, and freed his 
subjects from the alarm of an invasion, which they were 
ill-prepared to resist. A treaty of peace was concluded 
with the Athenians , and reviving commerce soon poured 
a stream of wealth into his impoverished kingdom. 

Two circumstances conspired about this time to 
augment the influence and reputation of Philip ; the 
% first, an oracle which had lately been pronounced at 
Delphos, in which it was predicted, that " Macedon 
would recover its ancient dignity under one of the sons 
of Amyntas ; and the second, the opportune discovery 
of a gold mine at Crenidae, (afterwards called Phi- 
lippi,) which produced annually more than a thousand 
talents. To this discovery the greater part of his future 
successes are to be ascribed ; for he accomplished much 
more by negotiation than by arms, and the success of 
his negotiations usually depended upon the bribes he 
offered. So degraded was the political state of Greece, 
that there was scarcely an orator, statesman, or senate, 
he did not, sooner or later, corrupt — ^the once venerable 
council of Amphictyons itself, not excepted. 

A penetrating mind, like that of Themistocles, (had 
any of the Grecian republics then possessed such 
a statesman,) would have detected, at the commence- 



312 



HISTORY OP GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



ment of Philip's reign, his design to make himself 
master of Greece, however artfully concealed ; and an 
alarm would have been sounded from the Ionian to 
the iEgean seas. But the ambitious prince of Mace- 
don had no such rival genius with whom to contend. 
His fair promises, his specious pretexts, and his shew 
of moderation and clemency, were sufficient to deceive 
the degenerate patriots of Greece, who saw, without 
alarm, his daily encroachments on the rights and pos- 
sessions of independent states, and his interference in 
all the disputes that arose amongst them. It did not 
occur to them, that he secretly fomented these dis- 
sensions, for the purpose of rendering them his more 
easy prey ; and that the assumed lenity, the boasted 
justice of his conduct, were but intended to throw 
them off their guard, and conceal his real intentions. 

Nothing could be more favourable to his wishes 
than the contentions and struggles of the lesser re- 
publics of Greece, which were carried on incessantly 
during the first years of his reign. Several of the 
islands and colonies belonging to the Athenians re- 
volted, and formed a confederacy against the parent 
state. To reduce these to subjection, employed the 
whole military and naval strength of Athens more 
than four years, under the conduct of three generals, 
Timotheus, Iphicrates, and Chares. Another detach- 
ment of the Greeks, consisting chiefly of Pelopon- 
nesians, had accompanied Dion to Syracuse, and were 
engaged in an arduous attempt to wrest the govern- 
ment of Sicily from the hands of an usurper. A third, 
and yet more destructive contest, in which the greater 
part of the Grecian states were involved, was the 
Phocian, or, as it is sometimes called, the sacred 



ESSAY VII. 



PHILIP OF MACEDON. 



313 



war. This was excited by the council of Amphictyons, 
who claimed the right of keeping the temple of Apollo, 
its vast treasures, and its consecrated possessions, 
subject to their direction — a right which had been 
violated by some of the inhabitants of Phocis, w^ho 
had presumed to plough up some land which had been 
dedicated to Apollo. For this heinous offence, all 
Greece was summoned to take up arms against them, 
by order of the council. Sparta alone not only dared 
to disobey the mandate, but secretly promised to furnish 
the Phocians with supplies of men and money. A des- 
perate, but unsuccessful effort, was made by Philo- 
melus, the Phocian general, to defend his country 
against the confederate Greeks ; but, being defeated, 
in a fit of desperation, he threw himself headlong from 
the rocks, to which he had fled from the vengeance of 
his enemies. 

For several years, Philip of Macedon watched the 
progress of this destructive contest, and secretly fanned 
the flames of discord, without espousing either side. At 
length his assistance was solicited by the Thessalians, 
and thus an occasion was given to interfere in the con- 
cerns of Greece. Religion was, on this occasion, as has 
too frequently occurred, a veil for his ambition. To 
avenge the insult offered to Apollo, and punish a sacri- 
legious people, were his professed designs in joining 
the allied Greeks ; but the result proved, that his real 
object was to gain such an ascendency in their councils, 
as should prepare the way for the future sovereignty of 
Greece. His accession to the league soon terminated 
the Phocian war, and he was rewarded by a seat in the 
council of Amphictyons, instead of the sacrilegious 
republic of Phocis, which had been expelled. This was 



314 



HISTORY OP GREECE. BOOK III. 



an important step towards the accomplishment of his 
ambitious projects, which, in addition to the super- 
intendency of the Pythian games, transferred to him 
from the Corinthians, enabled him, henceforward, to 
govern both the general councils and the oracles of 
Greece. 

Upon this system of cautious and well-dissembled 
policy, Philip continued to act throughout his reign, 
continually invading the rights and possessions of neigh- 
bouring states, yet, at the same time, justifying his 
aggressions with so much plausibility of reasoning, 
and such apparent equity, that it was scarcely pos- 
sible to condemn the measures, however unjust in them- 
selves. All the more powerful republics were either 
deceived by his fair professions, or corrupted by his 
gold. The Spartans, though fully sensible of the dan- 
ger which threatened Greece, were too degenerate, or 
too exhausted, to make an effort on behalf of their 
expiring liberties. Thebes had suffered too much 
during the Phocian war, to be prepared for so formi- 
dable an adversary. The Athenians, immersed in 
luxury and vice, perpetually amused with their theatri- 
cal entertainments and splendid shows, were little in- 
clined to oppose the ambitious views of Philip, though 
they were best able to attempt it with vigour. A tem- 
porary and successful effort was, indeed, made by the 
brave and patriotic Phocion, to counteract the designs 
of Philip, on the flourishing island of Euboea, to which 
that prince attached so much importance, as to call it, 
" the fetters of Greece." The intrigues of the kirg 
of Macedon, in that colony, were detected, and his le- 
gions vanquished, by the prudence and valour of that 
illustrious Athenian ; but having attained this object, 



ESSAY VII. PHILIP OF MACEDON. 



315 



the senate and people of Athens again resigned them- 
selves to indolent security and criminal pleasures. 

Amongst other means employed by Philip to deceive 
the x\thenians, the most successful was bribery. He 
thus acquired numerous partisans within the walls, 
and even in the senate of Athens. All the orators, ex- 
cept the celebrated Demosthenes, were in the Macedo- 
nian interest. Well convinced of the influence which 
they possessed over the popular assemblies of Athens, 
Philip had spared no expense or exertions to secure 
these demagogues, who led the public opinion, and 
governed its decisions. Demades, a sordid but eloquent 
orator, Eubulus, a venal flatterer of the vices of the 
common people, and even the energetic and sublime 
i^schines himself, were bought by Macedonian gold. 
Demosthenes alone, (whose character and public con- 
duct will, hereafter, be more particularly described,) 
remained inflexible; neither flatteries nor censures, 
proffered wealth or honours, could seduce his incor- 
ruptible mind ; with the most determined courage he 
sounded the trumpet of alarm, and poured forth his 
philippics at every fresh aggression of the king of 
Macedon. Nor did he rest, till, by the force of his elo- 
quence bearing down all opposition, he stirred up 
his infatuated country to make an essay, at least, to- 
wards stemming the torrent of ambition. 

The attempt of the combined armies of Athens and 
Thebes was vigorous, but unsuccessful ; chiefly on ac- 
count of the want of skill in their commanders, all of 
whom were notoriously unfit for the important station 
they occupied. Had the conduct of the battle of ChaB- 
ronaea, in which Philip triumphed over the confede- 
rate Greeks, equalled either the patriotic hopes of 



316 



HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK III. 



Demosthenes, or the valour of the troops employed in 
it — had Phocion been appointed to the command, who 
had already vanquished, in Euboga and Thrace, the le- 
gions of Philip — or had the heedless impetuosity of 
the Athenians permitted them to estimate more accu- 
rately the strength of the enemy — the result w^ould 
probably have been widely different, and the ambitious 
projects of Philip had been completely frustrated. But, 
unhappily for Greece, her heroic bands were com- 
mitted, on this occasion, to the unskilful Lysicles, the 
voluptuous Chares, and the perfidious Theagenes, who 
fell into the snare which Philip and Alexander had 
laid for them, and were defeated with great loss. The 
conqueror treated his vanquished foes with great cle- 
mency, and dismissed many of the prisoners without 
ransom. This victory was quickly followed by a treaty 
of peace between Athens and Macedon, which left the 
Thebans at the mercy of the latter, and virtually be- 
trayed the whole Grecian empire into the hands of 
Philip. 

Every obstacle being now removed, a general con- 
vention of the Amphictyonic states was summoned, in 
which Philip solicited and obtained the honour, to 
which he had long aspired, and which he was now 
able to demand^ — ^the appointment of generalissimo of 
Greece, in the projected invasion of Persia. Here a 
new theatre of glory seemed to open before him, an 
almost boundless prospect unfolded itself- — when he 
was suddenly arrested, in the midst of his course, by 
an invincible adversary. At a public entertainment, 
given in honour of the nuptials of his daughter Cleo- 
patra, he was assassinated by an obscure Macedonian, 
whose motives for perpetrating the deed were never 



ESSAY VII. PHILIP OF MACEDON. 



317 



developed . This event took place in the forty-seventh 
year of his age, and twenty-fourth of his reign. 

Diodor. Sicul. lib. 16. Plut. in Phoc. et Demosth. ^schin. et 
Demosth. Orat. ^-c. Justin, lib. 7 et 8. 



REFLECTIONS. 

How justly said the faithful and true Witness, " the 
children of this world are wiser in their generation 
than the children of light." Seldom has a character 
appeared amongst mankind, whose whole life afforded 
so perfect a specimen of worldly wisdom, as that of 
Philip of Macedon. With what complicated difficulties 
had he to struggle ! how many apparently insurmount- 
able obstacles stood in the way of his ambition ! how 
unlikely was it, at the commencement of his reign, that 
he would be able to retain the possession of his father's 
throne, and much less acquire the sovereignty of 
Greece ! But his comprehensive mind distinctly saw 
the line of policy it was necessary to adopt ; with un- 
deviating firmness, he persevered in it, undismayed by 
dangers or difficulties, till he obtained the objects of 
his ambition, the summit of his hopes. It is not neces- 
sary to practise the arts of dissimulation, for which 
this prince was so remarkable, in pursuing the race 
that is before us," The cause of God and truth needs 
no such aids — it expressly forbids — it explicitly con- 
demns them. But the same ardour of mind — the same 
intenseness of desire — the same unwearied perseve- 
rance is necessary, if we would " finish our course 
with joy," and receive the promised crown. It were 
greatly to be wished that " the children of light," 



318 



HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK III. 



whilst they shun the dishonest artifices and selfish policy 
of " the children of this world," would yet imitate 
their unconquerable zeal and determination of mind, 
in the pursuit of higher and more sacred objects. 

Philip was principally indebted to his wealth for the 
success of his public measures. The oracle had pre- 
dicted that he would conquer with silver spears," and 
he abundantly verified the prediction. He had atten- 
tively studied the human character, and well knew how 
deeply the love of gold is implanted in the heart. So 
convinced was he that covetousness is the ruling pas- 
sion of mankind, that he used to say, he despaired of 
taking no city, however impregnable its fortresses, if 
he could introduce into it a mule laden with gold. 
This was the engine which completed the demolition 
of Grecian liberty, and which has destroyed infinitely 
more in every age than sword, pestilence, or famine. 
To guard against external foes is comparatively easy, 
so long as no traitor lurks within; but if covetousness 
occupy the citadel of the heart, vain are gates of brass 
and bars of iron ! The passions, like the corrupted ora- 
tors of Athens, will raise a perpetual clamour, and 
drown even the thunders of conscience, which, like 
Demosthenes, sounds a perpetual alarm. A feeble ef- 
fort is perhaps made at the suggestion of this inward 
and faithful monitor, to stem the torrent of iniquity, 
but it is a fruitless struggle. Sold by these perfidious 
traitors into the enemy's hand, the result proves more 
fatal than the battle of ChaeronaBa, for the soul is 
drowned in perdition ! " 

The over-ruling hand of the God of providence may 
be distinctly traced, both in the elevation and sudden 
fall of Philip. The Persian empire had now almost 



ESSAY VII. PHILIP OP MACEDON. 



319 



completed its appointed period, and was to be super- 
seded by the Macedonian or Grecian. The Spirit of 
Truth had predicted this event by Daniel. But many 
preparatory steps were necessary to the accomplish- 
ment of this prophecy. No one of the republics of 
Greece could overthrow this mighty monarchy. They 
must be consolidated into one body, and placed under 
the conduct of one able commander. To Philip were as- 
signed in the councils of divine Providence, all these pre- 
paratory measures ; and when these were accomplished, 
he was, by a special and awful providence, removed, 
that a way might be opened for the elevation and con- 
quests of Alexander, who had been pointed out by an- 
cient prophecy, as the actual founder of the Macedo- 
nian empire. Thus do the wrath, the ambition, the 
covetousriess, the injustice of man work, by inscru- 
table methods, the sovereign purposes of Jehovah ! 



ESSAY VIII. 

On the Life and Character of Demosthenes, the 
Athenian Orator, 

born a. C. 385. DIED A. C. 322. 

The justly celebrated orator, whose name is pre- 
fixed to the present essay, held so conspicuous a sta- 
tion in Greece, at a crisis of imminent danger, and ac- 
quired, by his talents alone, such commanding influence 
in her public assemblies, that it seems necessary to 
step aside for a moment from the more beaten track 
of general history, to relate the principal events of his 



320 HISTORY OP GREECE. BOOK III. 

life, and to delineate the leading features of his cha- 
racter. Though he neither wore the insignia of royalty, 
nor presided as supreme magistrate over a powerful 
republic, nor commanded fleets and armies, yet, by 
the mere thunder of his eloquence, he made the most 
powerful monarchs of his day, tremble on their throne, 
and roused the slumbering energies of Greece. Every 
thing that relates to such a character is highly interest- 
ing, both because it is intimately connected with the 
general history of his times, and because it affords a 
striking example of the influence of mind over the 
greatest physical powers. 

Demosthenes was the son of an opulent Athenian 
manufacturer, who, at his death, left the child of his 
hopes to the care of an excessively indulgent mother, 
and committed his patrimony to the rapacious grasp 
of unprincipled guardians, who left no means unem- 
ployed to deprive him of his hereditary possessions. 
The mistaken tenderness of his surviving parent, added 
to the extreme weakness of his constitution in child- 
hood, interrupted the course of his education, and de- 
prived him of many of those advantages which he 
might have enjoyed in his native city. He discovered, 
at a very early period, a taste for elocution, though 
nature seemed to have opposed many insuperable ob- 
stacles to his arriving at eminence in that art. The^ 
style of oratory that charmed his youthful fancy, was 
not the mild and flowing eloquence of Isocrates, (who 
was then the most celebrated rhetorician in Athens,) 
but the nervous and impassioned harangues of Isaeus, 
whose school, as well as that of the philosophical 
Plato, he constantly attended. 
His first attempt at public speaking was in defence 



ESSAY VIII. 



DEMOSTHENES. 



321 



of his own rights against the unjust claims of his 
guardians, when about seventeen years of age ; on 
which occasion, his success was rather to be ascribed to 
the justice of his cause, than to the manner of his de- 
livery. Encouraged by this first effort, he undertook to 
plead the cause of a friend ; but was unable to pro- 
ceed, on account of the decided marks of disapproba- 
tion exhibited by the whole assembly. Mortified, and 
almost in despair, he formed a momentary resolution to 
retire from public life, and hide his head in perpetual 
obscurity. But the solicitations of his friends, seconded 
by the invincible ardour of his genius, induced him 
quickly to alter his purpose, and make the most deter- 
mined efforts to conquer those natural defects, which 
seemed so formidable. He devised methods of cor- 
recting his indistinct articulation, and ungraceful ges- 
ture, modulating his voice, and gradually acquiring a 
dignified and manly eloquence. Convinced that more 
was necessary to form a perfect orator, than the most 
correct pronunciation, or the most graceful action, he 
applied himself diligently to reading and study. For 
a time he secluded himself almost entirely from so- 
ciety, that he might form his style on the purest 
models, and induce a habit of chaste and elegant com- 
position. During this interval of retirement, he is 
said to have transcribed the history of the Peloponne- 
sian war by Thucydides eight times ; so desirous was 
he of acquiring a style of composition, similar to that 
of the justly admired historian. 

But this was not the only advantage derived by the 
eloquent Athenian from the study of Thucydides. 
Whilst employed in copying the writings of that his- 
torian, Demosthenes imbibed his patriotic spirit — his 

Y 



322 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



i pagination was fired with the former glory of his 
country-r-a generous indignation was kindled in his 
bosom, at comparing the ancient splendour of Athens 
with its present state of voluntary degradation — and a 
noble, but perhaps a romantic, ambition possessed his 
soul, to be the instrument of renovating a decayed re- 
public. Animated with these hopes and visionary 
prospects, he appeared in the public assembly, and, 
in his orations against Philip, poured forth such a 
stream of eloquence, that none of the venal orators of 
Athens were able to resist it ; the magistrates and com- 
mon people were borne along by the mighty torrent, 
ere they were aware ; his audience, instead of finding 
leisure or inclination to admire the splendid corusca- 
tions of his genius, found themselves imperceptibly 
animated by the same patriotic spirit, and roused from 
their lethargy, by the impassioned vehemence of the 
youthful orator. In those unequalled specimens of his 
eloquence, which have been preserved amidst the wreck 
of ages, we meet with such elevated sentiments, clothed 
in such glowing language, that, whilst reading them 
with delight approaching to admiration, we are no 
longer surprised at the powerful effects they produced 
on the popular assemblies of Greece — we cannot 
wonder that multitudes should throng from every pro- 
vince, to hear him declaim on subjects so deeply inte- 
resting to their feelings — that so many states rose at 
his hope-inspiring call from the slumbers of inactivity 
or the shades of despair, to make a vigorous effort for 
their expiring liberties — or that Philip should have 
confessed, that the eloquence of Demosthenes injured 
him more than all the armies and fleets of the Athe- 
nians. " His harangues," said the Macedonian mo- 



ESSAY VIIT. 



DEMOSTHENES. 



323 



narch, are like machines of war and distant batte- 
ries raised against me, by which all my projects are 
subverted, and my enterprises ruined, in spite of all 
my efforts. I verily believe," continued that generous 
adversary, " had I been present, and listened to his 
orations, I should have been the first to conclude on 
the necessity of waging war with myself." 

But though Demosthenes was thus valiant in speech, 
whilst surrounded by admiring crowds of his fellow - 
citizens, if the testimony of his rivals and enemies is 
to be credited, his courage failed him, whenever it was 
put to a severe test. On more than one occasion, 
he is said to have acted a timid and cowardly part in 
the field of battle. When despatched with nine other 
distinguished Athenians on an embassy to Philip, he 
was called upon to plead the cause of his country, in 
the presence of the Macedonian prince, but was so 
embarrassed as to be wholly unable to proceed, whilst 
his more confident rival, iEschines, delivered with 
perfect ease a copious and elaborate oration, in de- 
fence of the ancient rights of the Athenian republic. 
Yet there is reason to believe, that this bold and elo- 
quent advocate of Athens, and all his associates, were 
corrupted by Macedonian gold, while Demosthenes 
alone remained uncontaminated and independent. 

Notwithstanding these instances of weakness, which 
were rather to be accounted constitutional infirmities, 
than evidences of a temporizing spirit, Demosthenes 
was employed on all public occasions by the Athenian 
government, who relied, with the utmost confidence, 
upon his political integrity and inflexible patriotism, 
and were ever ready to intrust to him the honour and 
interests of the republic. At Thebes, at Sparta, at 

Y 2 



324 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



Corinth, and in almost every other Grecian republic, 
he discharged with fidelity and success the most im- 
portant embassies. Even after the battle of Chaero- 
nea, in which the liberties of Greece were irretriev- 
ably lost, the Athenians were so convinced of the 
purity of his motives and value of his services, in ad- 
vising them to risk that engagement, that they voted 
him a golden crown. 

This circumstance led, several years after, to a me- 
morable contest between the two rival orators of that 
day, iEschines and Demosthenes, in which the vehe- 
ment and persuasive eloquence of the latter com- 
pletely triumphed over the splendid and elaborate ora- 
tory of the former. Though this intellectual conflict 
took place when the Macedonian interest had gained 
a complete ascendency in Athens- — though his audi- 
ence consisted tihiefly of those who had been corrupted 
by Philip and Alexander, and were become their 
most abject flatterers — though subsequent events had 
proved the counsel of Demosthenes, however well- 
meant, to have been most calamitous in its conse- 
quences to all the Grecian states — yet such was the 
irresistible force of his eloquence, that his auditors 
were compelled, in spite of themselves, to acquit the 
eloquent patriot, and banish his vanquished rival. 
It is recorded, to the honour of Demosthenes, that 
when iEschines was setting sail for the island of 
Rhodes, the place of his exile, his illustrious compe- 
titor brought him a purse of gold, which he pressed 
him to accept with such generous kindness, that 
jEschines could not refrain from saying with tears, 
"Ah, how shall I quit a country, where enemies are 
more generous than friends elsewhere !" This genero- 



ESSAY VIII. 



DEMOSTHENES. 



325 



sity was repaid by a no less honourable trait of cha- 
racter, which has been preserved of iEschines, who, 
having established a rhetorical school at Rhodes, used 
to recite with enthusiasm the oration of Demosthenes 
which occasioned his banishment, and point out to 
his pupils its numerous beauties, adding, " What 
would have been your admiration, if you had heard it 
pronounced by the orator himself ?" 

During the active reigns of Philip and Alexander, 
Demosthenes sounded a perpetual alarm, and ceased 
not to warn his countrymen against yielding to the 
ambitious projects of these enterprising monarchs. But 
when Antipater obtained possession of Athens, and in- 
troduced into it a Macedonian garrison, the orator fled 
to the island of Calauria, and took sanctuary in a 
temple dedicated to Neptune. Thither the cruel re- 
venge of Antipater followed him. A detachment of 
Thracian guards were sent to apprehend him ; but 
fearing to violate a sanctuary, every art of persuasion 
was employed to induce him to surrender himself to 
his enraged adversary. — Finding it impossible to es- 
cape the vigilance of his persecutors, and fully per- 
suaded that he had nothing to hope for from the cle- 
mency of Antipater, he withdrew into the interior of 
the temple, and, under the pretence of writing to his 
family, put a poisoned quill into his mouth, which, in 
a few moments, terminated his mortal existence, and 
disappointed the meditated vengeance of his enemies. 

A higher eulogium could scarcely have been pro- 
nounced on this prince of orators than that which was 
spoken by Antipater himself, several years before his 
death. I regard not," said he, " the harbours, the 
fleets, the armies of the Athenians : for what is there 



326 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



to fear from a dissolute people, ever amused with 
shows, feasts, and bacchanalian orgies ? Demosthenes 
alone gives me pain. Without him, the Athenians 
would be amongst the most despicable inhabitants of 
Greece. He alone inspires and animates them. He 
rouses them, with his thundering eloquence, from 
their slumbers, and puts arms and oars into their 
hands in spite of themselves. He perpetually sets 
before them the ancient victories of Marathon and 
Salamis, and incites them to similar deeds of valour. 
Nothing escapes his penetrating mind. He foresees 
all our projects, countermines and defeats all our de- 
signs, insomuch that if Athens confided in his wis- 
dom, and implicitly followed his counsels, our con- 
dition were hopeless. No bribe can tempt him ; like 
another Aristides, he is impenetrable to all such over- 
tures. Patriotism alone inspires and actuates him." 

Such was the honourable testimony borne, even by 
an enemy, to the commanding talents and pui)lic vir- 
tue of this celebrated orator, to whom might be ap- 
plied, with much justice, the language of our sublime 
poet ; 

^faithful found 

Among- the faithless, faithful only he ; 

Amonsf innumerable false, unmoved. 

Unshaken, unseduced, unterrified. 

His loyalty he kept, his love, his zeal ; 

Nor numbers nor example with him wroug-ht, 

To swerve from truth, or change his constant mind. 

Though single. Milton. 

Plut. in Demost. Lucian. in Encom. Demost. Demost. Opcr, 



ESSAY VIII. 



DEMOSTHENES. 



327 



REFLECTIONS. 

The object of the orator is to persuade men, either 
by informing their judgments or moving their pas- 
sions ; it is his aim, by every possible avenue, to make 
his wsiy to their hearts, and thus to influence their 
conduct. This task is more or less difficult, accord- 
ing to the character and condition of those w^ho are 
addressed. In the earlier period of the history of 
Athens, orations were not necessary to enkindle the 
flame of patriotism — but in its more degenerate age, 
the energies of a Demosthenes scarcely availed to 
elicit a momentary spark. If no specimens of his elo- 
quence had been preserved, sufficient evidence of his 
unrivalled talents might have been gathered from the 
page of history, in which it is recorded, that this 
Athenian orator, by means of his persuasive eloquence 
alone, fixed the attention, and called forth the latent 
vigour of a people, devoted to pleasures, debased by 
sensuality, and sunk into the deepest state of moral 
and political degradation. It must be confessed, his 
task was peculiarly difficult, and, under such circum- 
stances, his success was truly astonishing. 

But how much more astonishing are the efffects pro- 
duced by christian oratory, or what is termed by an 
inspired Apostle, " the foolishness of preaching, ac- 
companied with the demonstration of the Spirit and 
with power !" Though the first advocates of Chris- 
tianity " came not with excellency of speech" — though 
they used not the enticing words of man's wisdom" 
— though they addressed " a world lying in wicked- 
ness" on subjects to which ail their prejudices and 
passions were opposed — yet with what convincing 



328 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III 



energy did they persuade men ! How did they en- 
kindle in their hearers the most ardent affeetions, the 
most sacred passions ! How did they arm them against 
themselves, and constrain them, not by fire and sword, 
nor by authoritative statutes and decrees, but by the 
force of truth alone, to turn from idols to the living 
God ; to crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts 
— to engage in an arduous warfare with " principali- 
ties, and powers, and spiritual wickedness in high 
places ?" 

Though the simplicity of gospel truth needs not the 
splendid costume of human eloquence, to render it at- 
tractive and effectual to salvation, yet there is no rea- 
son why the sublimest powers of genius, and the most 
finished graces of oratory, should not be consecrated to 
the cross of Christ. Never can they be exerted in a 
nobler cause, or applied to more valuable purposes. 
That they are by no means necessary to the successful 
propagation of the gospel, must be admitted by all 
who bow to the authority of Scripture ; that the reli- 
gion of Jesus has been propagated without their aid 
is equally true ; and that they can of themselves avail 
nothing to the conversion and purification of the 
souls of men, is most evident ; but it must also be 
admitted, that the truths of that gospel are sufl&- 
ciently elevated and sublime, to exhaust the powers — 
not merely of a Demosthenes, but of the highest arch- 
.\ngel. The strongest wing of created genius cannot 
soar to their utmost heights — the boldest flights of 
imagination, attempted by human or angelic minds, 
caa n^iver approach their farthest bounds. Lisping 
are the accents, and languid the effusions of the most 
eloquent tongue, compared with the magnitude and 



ESSAY VIII. 



DEMOSTHENES. 



329 



glory of the sacred theme. He and he alone could 
do justice to them, who once condescended to appear 
in the disguise of mortality, but whose word was with 
power — the power not of man, but of God : for even 
his adversaries were constrained to say respecting 
him, " Never man spake like this man ! " 



ESSAY IX. 

On the Subversio7i of the Persian Empire by Alex- 
ander of Macedon. 

FROM A. C. 336—330. 

The enterprising spirit of Alexander manifested 
itself long before the death of his father, though that 
event took place in the twentieth year of his age. 
Before he had attained his twelfth year, he received 
the Persian ambassadors in the absence of Philip, and 
addressed to them many inquiries respecting the 
government of Persia, its reigning monarch, its mili- 
tary resources, its capitals, and the distance, strength 
or beauty of its principal cities. The ardent temper 
of this young prince could not be long restrained by 
the instructions of Aristotle, who was engaged to super- 
intend his education. Instead of listening to the cri- 
ticisms of his preceptor on the beauties of the Iliad, 
his youthful imagination was transported with the 
scenes and characters developed in that exquisitely 
beautiful poem. He could no longer rest in inglorious 
ease. He aspired to rival, to excel the heroic Achilles, 
whom he proposed as his model in future life. Wrought 
up to the highest pitch of enthusiasm, he hastened to 



330 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



his father's camp, who was then engaged in a war 
with the Scythians, where he commenced his career of 
military glory, and reaped the first fruits of victory. 
In an engagement with the Triballi, he had the satis- 
faction of saving the life of his father. When he saw 
him stretched on the ground, in a state of insensibi- 
lity, he defended him with his sword and shield, till 
conveyed to a place of safety, and then returned to 
put the barbarians to flight. The victory obtained at 
Chaeronea over the allied Greeks, was chiefly to be 
ascribed to the conduct and personal valour of this 
warlike prince of Macedon. These early indications 
of genius pointed him out to the Macedonians, as best 
qualified to occupy the vacant throne, amongst all 
those who aspired to that honour ; and to the Greeks, 
as most worthy to be elected general of their allied 
army, destined to the invasion of Persia. After having 
encountered some opposition, he was proclaimed king 
of Macedon and generalissimo of Greece. 

The first enterprise of Alexander after his accession, 
was against the barbarous tribes that inhabited the 
regions north of Macedonia, who had made frequent 
incursions into his territories. These he subdued with 
the utmost ease, and impressed the Illyrians, Thracians, 
and Moesians, with such a dread of his power, as in- 
duced them to solicit peace. While engaged in this 
northern expedition, several of the Grecian republics 
were encouraged to revolt, by a false report of his 
death, and endeavoured to expel the Macedonian gar- 
risons from their cities. The Thebans, especially, 
manifested the most determined resolution to shake 
off* the yoke. But Alexander marched with unex- 
ampled rapidity, from the remotest borders of Illyria to 



ESSAY IX. ALEXANDER OF MACEDON. 



331 



Thebes, and soon convinced its inhabitants that he was 
yet aliv«. Though he was by no means of a revengeful 
or cruel disposition, he determined on this occasion to 
inflict such signal punishment on the revolted Thebans, 
as should effectually prevent the other Grecian states 
from imitating their example. Having taken the city 
by storm, he commanded it to be rased to its founda- 
tions, leaving only the Cadmaea, a strongly-fortified 
citadel, capable of containing a numerous garrison. 
Its inhabitants, to the number of thirty thousand, 
were sold for slaves, with the exception of the de- 
scendants of Pindar, whom he treated with the highest 
distinction. Some individual examples of clemency 
and generosity are recorded by ancient historians in 
connexion with this sanguinary act, which soften in 
some degree the horrors of the scene, but which can 
never wipe off the injustice and barbarity of the whole 
transaction. 

The consequence of this strong measure was, as 
Alexander had anticipated, the immediate submission 
of all the other revolted states. The Athenians were 
particularly anxious to make their peace with the con- 
queror, and for this purpose sent a deputation with 
Demades at their head, who was known to Alexander, 
and well versed in all the arts of flattery. The incense 
he offered was so grateful, that the Athenians were 
pardoned, and assured of the continued favour and pro- 
tection of Alexander. Instructed, however, by this 
general insurrection, which his promptitude and 
decision alone had so quickly crushed, the king of 
Macedon did not venture to prosecute his meditated 
expedition to Persia, till he had sent into Greece a 
detachment of twenty thousand chosen troops, under 



332 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



the command of Antipater, to maintain subordination 
and tranquillity in that country during his absence. 

The impatient warrior could scarcely wait the return 
of spring, before he assembled his veteran army, and 
set out for Asia. If the magnitude of his object, the 
extent and resources of the empire he was about to 
invade, and the difficulties he must expect to encounter 
in such an enterprise, be duly considered, the army of 
Alexander, consisting only of 30,000 foot and 5000 
horse, will be acknowledged to have been very small. 
But it is also to be remembered, that all of these were 
veteran troops, who had fought and conquered under 
Philip, who had arrived by long-continued exercise at 
a high state of military discipline, and who well knew 
that the empire they were about to invade was ren- 
dered unwieldly by its vast extent, and enfeebled by its 
luxurious vices. Never, perhaps, was there an empire 
possessing greater resources than Persia at the moment 
in which it fell, yet never was there one less capable of 
self-defence. Its tributary provinces were numerous, 
extensive, andopulent, but they were in reality so many 
separate kingdoms under the viceroyalty of jealous 
and haughty satraps, who counteracted rather than as- 
sisted each other. These provinces differed widely in 
their language, customs, and religion ; they were 
united by no common bond, nor were they associated 
by a community of interest. Under these circum- 
stances, it is not surprising that a few thousands of 
well-disciplined Greeks and Macedonians, under the 
command of a skilful and enterprising chief, should 
quickly demolish this stupendous but mouldering pile. 

Long as the invasion of Persia had been meditated 
by the Greeks, the indolent satraps of that empire, and 



ESSAY IX. ALEXANDER OF MACEDON. 



333 



their deluded monarch, were alike taken by surprise. 
Alexander crossed the Hellespont without opposition, 
and penetrated into the richest provinces of Asia 
Minor. No army was assembled on the frontiers of the 
imperial dominions ; no passes were occupied by Per- 
sian troops ; no cities were garrisoned and fortified ; 
all seemed to invite the invading foe. When it was 
found that Alexander had actually arrived, a council of 
war was held by the governors of Lesser Asia, in which 
it was determined to collect, with all speed, a sufficient 
number of forces to dispute his passage across the 
Granicus. But the Macedonian conqueror rushed for- 
ward, passed the river in the face of a more numerous 
army advantageously posted on the opposite bank, 
forced their entrenchments, and scattered them in every 
direction, with great loss and total defeat. This victory 
opened to the conqueror all the fertile plains and 
wealthy cities of Ionia, Caria, and Phrygia ; many of 
whose inhabitants hailed the prince of Macedon as 
their deliverer from an oppressive yoke. His progress 
was retarded by the obstinate resistance of two strongly- 
fortified cities on the coast of Asia, Miletus and Hali- 
carnassus, both of which were taken with the utmost 
difficulty, on account of the ability with which they 
were defended by the celebrated Memnon of Rhodes. 

After having subdued the maritime provinces, and 
received the submission of several tributary princes, 
Alexander directed his march toward the interior of 
Asia, that he might encounter Darius in the very heart 
of his empire. On his arrival at Tarsus he was seized 
with a violent sickness that threatened his life, sup- 
posed to have been occasioned by his bathing in the 
river Cydnus, when heated and fatigued by exercise. 



334 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK HI. 



On this occasion he manifested a generosity of cha- 
racter that deserves to be recorded to his honour. Par- 
menio, one of his confidential officers, had written from 
Cappadocia, to inform him that Philip, the king's phy- 
sician, had been bribed by Darius to poison him. This 
letter arrived when Philip had undertaken to prepare 
a medicine, which he doubted not would effect a speedy 
cure. Alexander presented the letter to his physician, 
at the same moment in which he drank the prepared 
dose, thus expressing the perfect confidence he had in 
his medical friend. If any thing had been necessary to 
remove suspicion from the mind of the royal patient, 
and re-assure him of the attachment of Philip, the 
emotions of grief, horror, indignation, and tenderness, 
portrayed on the countenance of the latter, while 
reading this epistle, had been more than sufficient. 

In the mean time Darius was ignorant of the cause 
of the stay of Alexander and his army at Tarsus, and 
his courtiers persuaded him, it was fear that detained 
him so long. Elated with this idea, and feeling himself 
certain of success, he marched his prodigious army 
into the rear of Alexander, "lest," as he said, *' the 
Macedonian boy should escape him." One faithful 
adviser in the camp of Darius, Caridemus the Athe- 
nian, warned him against this ill-judged measure, and 
advised him to disencumber his army of all those 
treasures with which they were laden, to exchange his 
gold and silver for shields and spears, and his splendid 
trappings for well-disciplined troops — but this advice 
cost the adventurous Athenian his life. The two armies 
met at Issus, where the second general battle was 
fought between the Macedonians and Persians. Pre- 
sumption and pusillanimity are inseparable compa- 



ESSAY IX. 



ALEXANDER OF MACEDON. 



335 



nions. They were associated in the mind and displayed 
in the conduct of Darius. Scarcely had the battle com- 
menced, when, perceiving the Macedonian phalanx, 
like a wedge, forcing its way through his thickest 
ranks, he turned his magnificent chariot, and fled with 
precipitation. His flight led to the total overthrow of 
his army, seventy thousand of whom were left dead on 
the field of battle . In the camp were found the mother, 
wife, and children of Darius, with an immense train of 
attendants and prodigious stores of wealth. The con- 
queror behaved with the utmost tenderness and deli- 
cacy to his illustrious captives, endeavouring to soothe 
and comfort them ; but lest he should be unduly fasci- 
nated by the exquisite beauty of Statira, the queen of 
Persia, he refused to see her a second time. Under his 
protection, the princesses of Persia lived, though in 
an hostile camp, as secure, invisible, and unmolested, 
as in a sanctuary. 

A far more difiicult enterprise now demanded the 
most skilful and persevering attention of Alexander. 
The commercial city of Tyre, so celebrated in sacred 
history, refused to admit the conqueror within its 
walls. Its situation was such as to render it almost 
inaccessible, but Alexander determined to reduce it, 
though the attempt appeared to all his generals hope- 
less and desperate. The Tyrians, encouraged by the 
strength of their fortifications, the number of their 
ships of war, and especially by their impregnable 
situation, treated all the overtures of Alexander with 
contempt, and even proceeded so far as to put his 
ambassadors to the sword, and cast their mangled 
•bodies into the sea. Grieved, as well as enraged, at 
this barbarous transaction, the king of Macedon 



336 HISTORY OP GREECE. BOOK III. 

vowed that he would not desist from the enterprise, 
till he had rased this proud city to the ground. 

Strange and almost incredible were the methods both 
of attack and defence adopted in this memorable siege. 
The annals of the world scarcely furnish another ex- 
ample of such determined efforts on both sides, amidst 
difficulties which to ordinary minds must have appeared 
insurmountable. The Tyrians held out to the last ex- 
tremity ; and, when their city was at length taken by 
storm, continued to fight with the most desperate va- 
lour, till they were compelled to submit. On this oc- 
casion, Alexander appears to have forgotten his usual 
clemency to the vanquished, for he commanded two 
thousand of the prisoners to be crucified on the shore, 
and the rest to be sold as slaves. 

After the conquest of Tyre, Judea, Egypt, and a 
great part of Assyria, submitted to his victorious arms. 
In passing through Egypt, he reduced the city of Gaza, 
founded that of Alexandria, and turned aside to visit 
the far-famed temple of Jupiter Ammon, situate on 
the deserts of Lybia, whose priests pronounced him 
" the son of Jupiter," and told him he should be the 
" monarch of the world." Elated by this oracle, he 
pressed forward to meet Darius, who had once more 
collected a vast but feeble army, resolved to make 
another struggle for the preservation of his tottering 
crown. The battle of Arbela proved more fatal than 
that of Issus, and completed the subversion of the 
Persian empire. The wealthy capitals of the provin- 
ces of Babylon, Susiana, and Persis, opened their 
gates to the Macedonian conqueror, and poured forth 
all their treasures. But Alexander, intent upon com- 
pleting his conquests by the capture of Darius, pur- 



ESSAY IX. 



ALEXANDER OP. MACEDON. 



337 



sued the unhappy monarch in his flight across the 
Armenian mountains, through Media by the Caspian 
straits, into Bactria, where he found the royal fugitive, 
weltering in his blood, expiring under the wounds 
that had been inflicted by his own treacherous officers. 
A few generous tears were shed by Alexander over the 
sad remains of fallen greatness, and the necessary di- 
rections given for the honourable interment of Darius 
in the sepulchre of his fathers ; after which, the con- 
queror himself proceeded, at the head of a detachment 
of cavalry, to take signal vengeance on his murderers. 

Plut. in Alexand. Diodor. lib. 17 et 18. Arrian. Alexand. 
Exped. lib. 1. Q. Curtius, lib. 3 et 4. Justin, lib. 11. 



REFLECTIONS. 

Whether the remarkable events which have been 
briefly related, are contemplated in a political, moral, 
or religious light, they are highly instructive. They 
demonstrate that the strength and stability of an em- 
pire does not depend upon its extent and territory, its 
immense wealth, or its military resources ; for they fur- 
nish a striking example of a monarchy that embraced 
more than half the globe, into whose treasury all the 
riches of the east were profusely poured, and which 
was able to send into the field its armed millions — yet 
so feeble as to be incapable of resisting the first shock 
of the Macedonian phalanx, so decayed, as to crumble 
at the touch of the victorious Alexander. 

Many political causes concurred to accelerate this 
event ; the principal of which were — the want of equal 
laws and a free constitution, without which, no govern- 

z 



338 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



ment can be permanent — the oppressive and cruel des- 
potism of the successive monarchs of Persia, and 
their no less imperious viceroys — the system of fa- 
voritism that prevailed in all the eastern courts, and 
tended to surround the throne vv^ith ambitious para- 
sites — and the extreme wretchedness of the common- 
alty in every part of the empire, who were doomed to 
perpetual bondage and poverty, to feed the avarice or 
gratify the ambition of a few courtiers, who monopo- 
lized all the wealth of the provinces over which they 
tyrannized. 

The moral causes, which operated to produce the 
rapid decay of the Persian empire, were pride and pro- 
fligacy, luxury and sensuality, ostentatious indolence 
and voluptuous effeminacy, together with an almost 
endless train of kindred vices, which obtained a ranker 
growth at the court of Susa, and throughout the do- 
minions of the Great King, than in any part of the 
world. These predominant vices enervated, debased, 
and, finally, destroyed the Persians. Voluptuous pro- 
fligacy in the higher, and vicious ignorance in the 
lower, orders of society, are amongst the surest indica- 
tions of national decay, and the most infallible pre- 
cursors of national ruin. 

The religious aspect, in which the preceding facts 
may be contemplated with peculiar interest, is, as a 
manifest fulfilment of prophecy . Both the destruction 
of Tyre, and the subversion of the Persian empire, 
were foretold by the prophets of Jehovah. Those parts 
of the sacred writings which refer to the former of 
these calamities, describe so accurately its attendant 
circumstances— the pride and pomp of that island-city, 
which claimed the sovereignty of the sea — her pre- 



ESSAY IX. ALEXANDER OF MACEDON. 



339 



sumptuous security on account of the strength of her 
ramparts, the multitude of her ships, and the abun- 
dance of her wealth — the quarter from which her deso- 
lation should proceed, and the manner in which it 
should be effected— the extent of that desolation, and 
the miseries that should follow — that they seem rather 
to contain a history than a prophecy of that memorable 
transaction *. Yet the prince of Macedon knew not, 
v/hile engaged in this arduous enterprise, and seeking 
alone to gratify his ambition and revenge, that he was 
fulfilling ancient prophecies, and executing divine de- 
crees ; that he was doing what the hand and coun- 
cil of Jehovah had determined before to be done." 

The triumphs of Alexander over Darius Codomanus 
were foretold, with equal if not greater minuteness, by 
Daniel. Three prophetical visions, recorded by him, 
manifestly allude to the overthrow of the Persian, and 
establishment of the Macedonian or Grecian, monar- 
chies. The first (Nebuchadnezzar's dream, related 
and interpreted in the second chapter,) describes, in 
terms that can scarcely be mistaken, the youthful 
conqueror, who, having reached the boundaries of the 
then known world, is said to have sat down and wept 
that there were not more worlds to conquer. The se- 
cond (Daniel's dream, recorded in the seventh chap- 
ter,) characterizes Alexander as a leopard, having 
on its back four wings of a fowl," to denote the rapi- 
dity of his conquests — having dominion given to it,'* 
to express the foundation and establishment of a new 
empire — and, lest any doubt should remain of the true 
application of this prophecy, the one head is described 

* Consult Ezek. xxvi. xxvii. and xxviii. passim. Isaiah xxiii. 
throughout. Joel iii. 3 — 8. Amos i. 9, 10. 

z 2 



♦ 



340 * HISTORY OF GREECE, BOOK III. 

as replaced by four. — in which the allusion is evident, 
to the subsequent division of the Macedonian empire. 
The third prophetic vision contains a yet more explicit 
reference to Alexander, under the appellation of " first 
king of Grecia." His invasion and easy conquest of 
Persia — the vehemence and fury vrith w^hich the 
conqueror would rush forward to seize his prey — the 
unhappy end of Darius, and utter destruction of his 
armies — all these historical facts are depicted in a 
series of exquisitely-beautiful images, and in language 
the most energetic and sublime'*. 

How grateful is it to the truly pious mind, thus to be 
permitted sometimes, by the light of prophecy, to view 
the interior of the complicated machine of Providence 
— ^to see how all the wheels of this mighty engine, 
whilst moving in perfect harmony, tend to the accom- 
plishment of one grand design — and, above all, to ob- 
serve with what ease the greatest, as well as the mi- 
nutest, parts of this vast machinery, are regulated and 
moved by an invisible but omnipotent hand ! 



ESSAY X. 

On the latter Conquests and Death of Alexander. 
FROM A. C. 329—^24. 

When the adventurous son of Philip quitted Mace- 
don, and crossed the Hellespont, it is probable his most 
romantic wishes did not extend further than to the 
conquest of Persia. His youthful imagination then 
dwelt with rapture on the extent of territory he should 

* See Dan. ii. 39, 40— vii. 6, 17. and viii. 5—8, and 20—23. 



ESSAY X. ALEXANDER OF MACEDON. . 341 

acquire, when not only the opulent provinces of Asia 
Minor, but, perhaps, the whole of Persia and Media, 
would be annexed to his hereditary kingdom. But the 
love of power is insatiable as that of gold, both of 
w^hich continually cry, " give, give ! " Ambition grows 
in proportion as it is fed by new conquests. The ap- 
petite is whetted rather than satiated by success. What 
seemed at first the cloud-capt" pinnacle of Fame, 
when gained, seems but the threshold of the temple. 
The remaining part of the history of Alexander illus- 
trates and confirms these remarks. When Darius was 
no more — when the murderers of that unhappy prince 
had met with the punishment their treachery deserved 
—instead of turning his footsteps toward Babylon, 
that he might consolidate and settle his newly-acquired 
dominions ; or to Macedonia, that he might receive the 
plaudits of his admiring subjects ; or to Greece, that 
he might quell the formidable insurrection that had 
spread through many of its provinces — he looked out 
for new enemies, and panted after new triumphs. The 
wandering tribes of Scythia had refused to submit to 
the conqueror, and had, in some instances, harassed 
him in his march through the inhospitable regions of 
Bactria and Sogdiana. These, therefore, he deter- 
mined first to chastise, in attempting which he suffered 
great loss, from the irregular mode of warfare which 
they adopted ; but at length he succeeded in gaining a 
signal victory over their principal army, on the banks 
of the river laxartes. From the deserts of Scythia, he 
turned aside to ravage and lay waste, rather than con- 
quer, the countries of the Chorienses, Dahse, and 
Sacae, till he arrived at the borders of India. 
In the mean time, several transactions took place, 



342 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



which sufficiently shewed that the conqueror of the 
world was the abject slave of his own passions, and 
completely intoxicated by prosperity. A reported con- 
spiracy reached the ears of Alexander, to which , at first, 
he appeared to give no credit, and even expressed his 
conviction of the innocence of the persons accused ; but 
afterwards he availed himself of some disrespectful 
words, uttered in confidence, to cut off Philotas, one 
of his warmest personal friends, and his father, Par- 
menio, the most experienced general, and wisest coun- 
sellor in his army, to whom he was indebted for many 
of his^most splendid victories. The murder of Clitus, 
perpetrated in a fit of intoxication, aSbrds a yet more 
melancholy proof of the fatal eflfects of unrestrained 
anger. Clitus had served under Philip, with great re- 
putation. In the battle of the Granicus he had saved 
the life of Alexander, by covering him with his shield, 
when wholly unarmed and defenceless. As a reward 
for his many and great services, his sovereign in- 
trusted to him the government of one of his most im- 
portant provinces. Before his departure, a bacchana- 
lian feast was given, in which Alexander, heated with 
wine, expatiated on his own exploits, and treated with 
contempt his father's memory. The veteran governor, 
kindled at these reflections on the friend of his youth, 
and with some warmth, and a vanity excusable in old 
age, extolled the victories of Philip, to which he had so 
greatly contributed, above all the more dazzling 
achievements of Alexander. Both parties grew more 
vehement, till at length Clitus was provoked to allude 
to the recent fate of Parmenio, adding, " such is the 
reward Alexander gives to his most faithful servants." 
The reproach was too just not to be keenly felt : hav- 



ESSAY X. ALEXANDER OF MACEDON. 



345 



ing no longer any command of himself, the enraged 
monarch snatched a javelin from one of his guards, 
and laid Clitus dead at his feet. But no sooner was 
the sanguinary deed perpetrated, than the prince 
viewed with horror the crime he had committed, and 
gave himself up to the most vehement and excessive 
grief, insomuch as resolutely to abstain from food, and 
make frequent attempts upon his own life. In vain did 
the obsequious Macedonians pass a decree, that Clitus 
was justly killed— in vain did Aristander, the sooth- 
sayer, tell him of the book of fate, in which this event 
was fore-ordained — in vain did Calisthenes and Anax- 
archus try the utmost force of their philosophical rea- 
soning — none of these could silence the clamours of 
an accusing conscience, or heal a wounded spirit. 

Scarcely had the remorse of Alexander, on account of 
the murder of Clitus subsided, ere he was betrayed by 
his passions, over which he now possessed no control, 
into an act of almost equal atrocity. Elated with his 
conquests, in which he imagined he had surpassed all the 
exploits of Bacchus and Hercules, he now claimed di- 
vine honours. The Lybian oracle had proclaimed him 
the son of Jupiter Ammon, and, on this testimony, he 
founded his pretensions to be enrolled amongst the gods. 
The Persians had been so accustomed to prostrate them- 
selves before their princes, that they admitted the claim 
without hesitation. A band of flatterers, who sur- 
rounded the person of Alexander, fed his vanity with 
the most extravagant adulation. But there was one 
unbending character, the philosopher Calisthenes, 
who not only refused the outward expression of ado- 
ration, but took occasion, at a public entertainment, 
to protest against it, pronouncing it impious to pay to 



344 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



a mortal, however illustrious, the honour and worship 
due to the immortal gods. Alexander affected not to 
notice the speech of Calisthenes, but soon after, that 
philosopher was apprehended on a charge of conspiracy, 
loaded with irons, cast into a dungeon, stretched on 
a rack to extort the confession of a crime he had 
never committed, and expired in the midst of his tor- 
tures. Thus did the conqueror of Persia tarnish all 
his former glory, by the unjust and barbarous execu- 
tion of a man, whose only crime it was, to have told 
him the truth. 

Alexander now resolved to pursue his project of 
invading India, which was supposed to contain the 
greatest abundance of gold and pearls and precious 
stones ; the splendour of which expedition was to 
crown all his other conquests. It would be of no real 
advantage to conduct the reader through the several 
stages of this romantic enterprise ; to inform him of 
the numerous tribes that submitted without resist- 
ance, and others which were reduced by force of arms ; 
or to describe the difficulties encountered by the Mace- 
donian army in crossing the Indus and Hydaspes. The 
most formidable opponent of Alexander, in this re- 
mote expedition, was Porus, a skilful warrior and mag- 
nanimous prince, v/hose kingdom was bounded by the 
Hydaspes, and embraced the most fertile provinces of 
India. The resistance made by Porus was so deter- 
mined and judicious, that it demanded all the talents 
and experience of Alexander to overcome it. Several 
battles were fought with equal valour, but unequal 
success ; for the disciplined skill of the Greeks tri- 
umphed in every instance over the rude and inexpe- 
rienced bravery of the Indians. In one of these en- 



ESSAY X. 



ALEXANDER OF MACEDON. 



345 



gagements the son of Porus was killed ; and in the 
last decisive action, Porus himself was taken prisoner. 
When brought before Alexander, the conqueror asked, 
in what he could oblige him ; ** by acting," replied the 
royal captive, like a king." That," said Alex- 
ander, " I shall do for mine own sake, but what can 
I do for yours ?" " All my wishes," replied Porus, 

are included in that request." The calm dignity and 
firmness of the Indian king so impressed the mind of 
Alexander, that he restored him to his kingdom, en- 
larged its boundaries, and received him into the num- 
ber of his allies. The generosity of Alexander, if in- 
deed it deserve the name, was amply rewarded by the 
unshaken fidelity and grateful confidence of Porus. 

Whilst Alexander was ardently pressing forward in 
his victorious career, and had arrived within a few 
days' march of the Ganges, his European troops were 
so alarmed at the tidings they had received of the 
armies assembled to dispute their passage across that 
river, and so discouraged by perceiving that no bounds 
were set to the ambition of their leader, that they ex- 
pressed, in the most decided but respectful manner, 
their resolution to follow him no farther ; and ear- 
nestly entreated him to lead them back to their far dis- 
tant homes. In vain did Alexander try every method 
of conciliation ; in vain did he command and threaten; 
the troops were immoveable, and at length constrained 
their mortified general to circumscribe his eastern em- 
pire. Conquered by the solicitations of his friends, 
most of whom had become grey in his service, he re- 
luctantly consented to return, after having erected 
twelve Macedonian altars, as memorials of the extent 
of his victories, and in imitation of the supposed pii- 



346 



HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK III. 



lars of Hercules. But he disdained to return by the 
same track, in which no enemies were to be combated, 
no dangers to be encountered. Having annexed all 
his Indian territories to the kingdom of Porus, he di- 
vided his army into two bodies, one of which marched 
by land across the Carmanian deserts, under the com- 
mand of Craterus — the other detachments sailed in 
vessels constructed for the purpose, down the river 
Indus to the Indian Ocean, which he purposed to 
coast, till he should arrive at the Persian sea. 

His voyage was retarded by several sieges of cities 
and fortresses on the banks of the river, in one of 
which he narrowly escaped with his life. With min- 
gled emotions of astonishment and delight he contem- 
plated the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean, and both 
himself and his army were filled with consternation at 
the ebbing and flowing of the tide, a phenomenon 
which they had never before witnessed in so remark- 
able a degree, and which the more superstitious con- 
sidered as a token of the displeasure of heaven. Find- 
ing his galleys too fragile to weather the ocean, he dis- 
embarked, and proceeded by land through Carmania 
to Persepolis and Susa. And now he began to resign 
himself, without reserve, to every kind of licentious- 
ness and intemperance. Having no longer any objects 
in view, which he deemed worthy of his ambition, he 
became a voluptuous sensualist, adopting the most in- 
famous practices of the former monarchs of Persia. 

In the midst of his gaiety at Ecbatana, he was visited 
with a calamity, from which he never completely re- 
covered. This was the sickness and death of Hephses- 
tion, his bosom friend, to whom he was most warmly 
attached. After this event he gave himself up to the 



ESSAY X. ALEXANDER OF MACEDON. 



347 



most inconsolable grief, lying extended on his couch 
for several successive days and nights, virithout food or 
rest. The most extravagant honours v^^ere paid to the 
memory of his departed friend, but the anguish of his 
mind still continued, till it induced a fixed melancholy, 
from which he was only aroused, at intervals, by the 
immoderate use of wine. His courtiers attempted to 
remove this depression, by proposing great designs, 
with the hope of rekindling the flame of ambition, 
some of which were so flattering to his vanity, as to 
gain his ear. It was suggested to him, to decorate the 
city of Babylon, which was to be in future the seat of 
government and metropolis of the empire ; to rebuild 
the temple of Belus, which had been thrown down by 
Xerxes ; and to turn the river Euphrates through the 
city. But ere these projects were carried into effect, 
the boasted hero fell a victim to his intemperate habits. 
At a Yojal banquet given at Babylon, he called for 
the golden cup of Hercules, and having emptied the 
capacious goblet at one draught, commanded it to be 
filled again ; but when attempting to repeat the draught, 
overcome by the fumes of the wine, he fell senseless on 
the floor. A raging fever followed, and swept into the 
grave in a few days the invincible Alexander, in the 
thirty-third year of his age, and the thirteenth of his 
reign ; a prince in whom it is difficult to say, whether 
the amiable or the ferocious qualities of the mind pre- 
ponderated, but whose restless and insatiable ambition 
most certainly rendered him the curse of makind. 



Consult the works referred to in the preceding Essay. 



348 



HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK III- 



REFLECTIONS. 

Such was the life and such the death of a man, 
whom all succeeding generations have pronounced 

Great,'" and whom millions of his contemporaries 
consented to deify. But it is difficult for his most ro- 
mantic admirers to say, wherein his greatness con- 
sisted. If a review be taken of his principal achieve- 
ments, how few of them bear the impression of mag- 
nanimity and genuine heroism ! Was it heroic — in the 
commencement of his military career, to besiege with 
an overwhelming force, the ancient city of Thebes — to 
rase it to the ground — ^to put thousands of its inhabi- 
tants to the sword, and sell the rest for slaves — whose 
only crime it was to have made an effort to recover 
their liberty and independence? Was it magnanimous 
— ^to demolish with a small but well-disciplined army, 
the colossal empire of Persia, which was already tot- 
tering beneath its own weight, and rapidly hastening 
to decay — which was defended alone by a host of mer- 
cenaries and slaves, without a patriotic chief, or 
experienced warrior, to guide and animate the huge 
un wieldly mass ? Was it a glorious deed — to scatter the 
wandering tribes of Scythia — to ravage the trackless 
wastes of Bactriana — to subjugate the unoffending and 
undisciplined nations of India, many of whom had not 
so much as heard of Greece, and all of whom were far 
from having provoked the vengeance of their fierce in- 
vaders ? 

Or if the conduct of Alexander to individuals be 
reviewed, it may be asked, was it an instance of great- 
ness—to imitate and even surpass the savage cruelty 
of Achilles, by commanding Betis, the governor of 



ESSAY X. ALEXANDER OP MACEDON. 



349 



Gaza, distinguished alike by his bravery and fidelity to 
his sovereign, to be fastened to his chariot-wheels, and 
dragged, while yet alive, around the walls of the for- 
tress he had so bravely defended, till the unhappy suf- 
ferer was dashed in pieces — to murder with his own 
hand the friend of his youth, his father's friend, the 
hoary-headed companion of his arms, the generous 
preserver of his life, because he had somewhat indis- 
creetly reproved the vanity of the inebriated monarch 
— to torture to death the virtuous Calisthenes, who 
alone dared to dispute the pretensions of the vain-glo- 
rious conqueror to divine titles and honours, and re- 
fused to prostrate himself before a fellow-mortal — to 
assassinate two of his best officers, Parmenio and Phi- 
lotas, on a mere suspicion of treason, without afford- 
ing them an opportunity to demonstrate their inno- 
cence ? Was it magnanimous, to resign himself to the 
most frantic grief at the death of Hephsestion, and 
imagine that he did honour to the memory of his friend 
by expending more than a million sterling at his fu- 
neral, by erecting the most splendid monuments, by 
commanding temples and altars to be consecrated to 
him, and by requiring all his subjects to acknowledge 
his divinity ? Or, finally, was it a proof of greatness to 
consume days and nights in bacchanalian revels, wal- 
lowing in intemperance, and running to such excess 
of riot," that his health and vigour were destroyed, ere 
he had attained the meridian of life ? By what strange 
perversion of feeling and principle has it happened, 
that this slave of appetite and passion, this emblem of 
mortal insignificance has been denominated for more 
than 2000 years, Alexander the Great ? How long 
will men continue to call evil good, and good evil; 



350 HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK III. 



to mistake darkness for light, and light for darkness ; 
to put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter?" 

It is true, most of these atrocities were perpetrated 
after the prince of Macedon had deeply drunk of the 
inebriating cup of worldly prosperity. They disgraced 
the latter years of his life and reign. It was then but 
too evident that the amiable, the tender, the generous 
virtues of his youth, were withered by the perpetual 
sunshine of his course ; and in their place, a great 
abundance of the most noxious and loathsome vices 
had sprung up, as so many " roots of bitterness.'* 
Then generosity of character was succeeded by selfish- 
ness, kindness by cruelty, pity by revenge. But this, 
far from proving the boasted magnanimity of the Ma- 
cedonian chief, demonstrates the reverse. For had he 
possessed in early youth a particle of true greatness, 
he would not have been thus intoxicated by success — 
the flatteries of courtiers and parasites would not have 
thus inflamed his vanity — the luxuries of the east 
would not have so easily vanquished and enslaved the 
conqueror of the world. Moral greatness — and that 
alone is worth possessing — chiefly consists in self- 
government; for the wisest of men, or rather the Spirit 
of Truth has affirmed, He that is slow to anger is 
better than the mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit, 
than he that taketh a city." 

Upon the whole, it is most evident, that the life of a 
conqueror, however dazzling it may be, is by no means 
enviable. It must, after all, be accounted a state of 
splendid bondage, in which no satisfaction can be 
found, no tranquillity enjoyed. His perpetual rest- 
lessness, his rapid movements, his wild and ambitious 
projects, clearly indicate a mind, to which peace, con- 



ESSAY X. ALEXANDER OF MACEDON. 351 

tentment, and happiness must be utter strangers. But 
could we see the interior of his mind, the secret cham- 
bers of his heart — could we discern the passions that 
agitate, the cares that torture, the sorrows that lace- 
rate, and the remorse that devours it — could Ave view 
this pageant, stripped of all the gilded trappings of 
worldly glory, undisguised as he must appear at the 
tribunal of his Judge — far from admiring his charac- 
ter, or envying his lot, our admiration would be turned 
to pity — our envy to gratitude. We should compas- 
sionate his splendid misery, and thank God that our 
lot is not cast amongst the conquerors of the earth. 



ESSAY XI. 

A cursor^/ View of the Affairs of Greece, during the 
Reigns of Alexander's Successors. 

FROM A. C. 324—271. 

The history of the Grecian states, from Alexander's 
death to the eera of their incorporation with the Roman 
empire, though extending over a considerable space, 
and embracing a long series of years, possesses little 
interest, compared with that of the ages which pre- 
ceded. It was a long period of darkness, if we except 
some transient gleams, that shed an evanescent lustre 
on some parts of the Grecian horizon, and a few dis- 
tinguished characters, who, like meteors, darted a 
momentary ray, and disappeared. It is not neces- 
sary to describe the competition that took place be- 
tween the family of Alexander and his principal gene- 
rals, for the vacant throne of Macedon ; the consequent 



352 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



dismemberment of that empire ; and the portions as- 
signed to each of the successful candidates . The greater 
part of this sanguinary struggle for power was carried 
on by persons who had little or no connexion with 
Greece, and in the distant provinces of Asia. This 
will, therefore, be excluded, as forming no part of 
Grecian history, and those facts alone will be intro- 
duced, which have an immediate reference to one or 
more of the republics and colonies of ancient Greece. 

The tidings of Alexander's death spread rapidly 
through the principal cities of Greece, and called forth 
the most rapturous demonstrations of joy. The event 
was hailed by all the Greeks, but especially by the 
sanguine Athenians, as the harbinger of liberty ; for 
they imagined that nothing now prevented them from 
shaking off the Macedonian yoke. The orators sounded 
the alarm of war in the public assemblies, and many 
of the enslaved republics promptly replied to the sum- 
mons by rushing to arms. A confederation was 
quickly formed, and an army raised, the command of 
which was given to Leosthenes, an impetuous youth, 
who gained, at first, considerable advantages over the 
Macedonian army, and even obliged Antipater, with 
all his remaining forces, to surrender at discretion. 
But the success of the allied Greeks proved transient 
and illusive ; Antipater raised a second army, with 
which he defeated the insurgents, (as they were 
called,) and took possession of their cities, after hav- 
ing dictated to them the terms of surrender. The 
resentment of the conqueror was chiefly armed against 
the orators, whom he considered the principal authors 
of the revolt. Most of these he destroyed by force or 
fraud, amongst whom was the celebrated Demos- 



ESSAY XI. 



PHOCION. 



353 



thenes, the circumstances of whose death have been 
related in a former essay*. 

Amidst all the violence of contending parties, and 
the frequent change of governors in Athens, Phocion 
had long remained tranquil and secure. His prudence, 
v^risdom, moderation, and unaffected humility, rendered 
him equally beloved and feared by all his fellow-citi- 
zens. He had been very ready to obey the call of his 
country, when his services were claimed, and as ready 
to retire into a state of honourable poverty, when 
those services were no longer demanded. Forty-five 
times was he elected general of the Athenian armies, 
by the unsolicited and unanimous votes of a capricious 
people, and had, on every occasion, proved himself 
worthy of the confidence reposed in him. This vir- 
tuous Athenian was so respected by Philip, Alexander, 
and Antipater, that they sought his friendship, yielded, 
in almost every instance, to his solicitations, and con- 
stantly afforded him protection. But when the latter 
was called from Greece to undertake the regency of 
Macedon, and Polysperchon arrived at Athens, the 
deluded citizens were induced by their new master to 
accuse, condemn, and execute the virtuous Phocion, 
who had now attained the 80th year of his age. The 
meekness and serenity of his death, crowned the pro- 
bity and usefulness of his life. When led forth to 
execution, one of the populace having grossly insulted 
him, he turned to the officers present, and said, with 
calmness and dignity, " Will none hinder this man 
from acting so unworthily ? " His dying instructions 
to a friend, who inquired what message he should de- 



* See Book III. Essay 8. 

2 A 



354 



«?ISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK III. 



liver to his son, were, ** Tell him, it is my last com- 
mand that he forget the injustice of the Athenians to 
his father ! " 

Polysperchon was, soon afterwards, expelled from 
Athens by Cassander, who appointed Demetrius Pha- 
LERius governor of the city, and commander of the 
garrison. He was not the tyrant, but the benefactor, 
of Athens, who increased its revenues, revived its com- 
merce, patronised its literature, and adorned it with 
magnificent structures. During the ten years of his 
mild and equitable government, Athens enjoyed per- 
fect tranquillity, and the citizens expressed their gra- 
titude to him by erecting numerous statues in honour 
of his public services. But this state of tranquillity 
was interrupted by Antigonus, and his son Demetrius, 
(surnamed Poliorcetes, or, the captor of cities,) who 
took, by surprise, the city of Athens, and under the 
pretence of restoring to its inhabitants their ancient 
laws and government, prevailed upon them to desert 
the standard of their former governor, and oblige him 
to withdraw from the place. The fickle Athenians 
found no difficulty in transferring their allegiance from 
Demetrius Phalerius, who had paid the most unre- 
mitting attention to their interests and comfort, to a 
most depraved and licentious youth, bearing, indeed, 
his name, but an entire stranger to his virtues and 
excellencies. They not only received him with open 
arms as their deliverer, but numbered him amongst 
their tutelar deities. The exiled Demetrius, in the 
mean time, spent his days in literary retirement, at 
the court of Ptolemy Soter, king of Egypt, where he 
composed several treatises on government and legisla- 
tion, to the excellency of which, Cicero has borne 



ESSAY XI. 



DEMETRIUS FHALESRIUS. 



355 



ample testimony. During his residence in Egypt, the 
Alexandrian library was collected, principally by his 
industry and superintending care, to which were an- 
nexed a museum and an academy of literary men, in- 
stitutions which tended greatly, in subsequent ages, 
to the preservation and advancement of learning* 
Amongst other benefits resulting from this establish- 
ment, may be mentioned the ancient Septuagint ver- 
sion of the Old Testament, made by order of Ptolemy 
Philadelphus, a few years after the death of Demetrius 
Phalerius. The successor to Ptolemy Soter commenced 
his reign with unjustly seizing and putting to death 
this philosophical statesman, whose modest virtues con- 
tinually, but silently, reproved his ostentatious crimes. 

The reign of Demetrius, the son of Antigonus, is 
chiefly remarkable for the memorable siege of Rhodes, 
which continued more than a year, and in conducting 
which, all the powers of invention, and all the resources 
of art, were exhausted. Machines were constructed of 
stupendous size, and of almost incredible force, many 
of which were rendered useless, and others entirely 
destroyed by the vigour or ingenuity of the besieged. 
At length, a mutual accommodation took place, and 
Demetrius gratified the Rhodians, before his departure, 
by presenting them with the machines he had employed 
in the siege : these were afterwards sold to defray the 
expense of erecting the celebrated colossus of Rhodes. 
Amidst the tumults and alarms of this siege, it is re- 
corded of Protogenes, an eminent artist, who resided 
in the suburbs of the city, that he pursued his work 
with the utmost tranquillity, as in a time of perfect 
peace. When Demetrius expressed his surprise at this 
apathy, and inquired into its cause, the artist replied, 



356 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



Because I knew you were the enemy of the Rhodians, 
not of the sciences." The reply was so flattering to De- 
metrius, that he stationed a guard round the house of 
Protogenes, during the rest of the siege, to protect both 
the person and property of this distinguished painter. 

Soon after this period, Pyrrhus, the king of Epi- 
rus, began to make a conspicuous figure in Asia, Italy, 
and Greece. He manifested, in early youth, a restless 
spirit of ambition, which prompted him to aim at the 
enlargement of his hereditary dominions. His whole 
reign was a series of wars, first with the neighbouring 
princes of Macedon, from whom he wrested that em- 
pire by force, then with the Romans, the circumstances 
and result of which contest, belong more properly to 
Roman History ; and finally, with the Greeks, whom 
he repeatedly attempted, in vain, to subjugate. Sparta 
had retained, amidst all the revolutions of Greece, at 
least, the shadow of independence. She was still go- 
verned by her own kings and senate, as in the purer 
days of the republic, and had not yet submitted to the 
humiliation of receiving within her walls a Macedonian 
garrison. But Pyrrhus formed the design of annexing 
the Peloponnesus to his widely-extended kingdom. He 
led a large army into Laconia, and, having borne down 
all opposition encamped before the capital. On this oc- 
casion, the dying embers of Spartan valour were re- 
kindled- — the women vied with the men in manual labour 
and invincible zeal — in one night, and that too in the 
face of an hostile army, a trench was dug round the 
city, which proved the means of preserving it from 
destruction. Three desperate attempts were made by 
the whole army of Pyrrhus to force this entrenchment, 
but so bravely was it defended by the Spartans, who 



ESSAY XI. 



PYRRHUS. 



357 



were prompted to deeds of valour by the presence of 
their wives and mothers, that the king of Epirus found 
it necessary to retire. His next attempt was on Argos, 
beneath the walls of which city, this veteran warrior 
was slain by a tile, aimed at his uncovered head, by a 
poor woman, who saw him in the act of killing her 
son. Thus ignobly fell one of the greatest captains of 
that age, by a blow, to which maternal affection gave 
a degree of force, which rendered it fatal, and a velo- 
city which rendered it inevitable. 

Diodor. Sicul. lib. 18—20. Plut. in Vit. Phoc. Demet. et Pyrrh. 
Justin, lib. 25. 



REFLECTIONS. 

The virtues of Phocion were of a much higher order 
than those which were commonly enjoined by heathen 
moralists. Most of these considered pride and ambi- 
tion as ennobling qualities, and evidences of an ele- 
vated mind ; they approved of a spirit of revenge, as not 
only lawful, but magnanimous. The contrary disposi- 
tions of meekness, humility, self-denial, and forgive- 
ness of injuries, were, for the most part, despised by 
them as weak and contemptible, beneath the fancied 
dignity of man. But the amiable and virtuous Pho- 
cion seems to have risen above the ordinary level of 
the heathen world, and approached much nearer to 
the refined morality of the Gospel. His whole life 
proves that he " sought not great things for himself," 
and that he shunned, rather than courted, popular fa- 
vour. Though he was willing, on all occasions, to as- 
sume the command of the Athenian army, when hig 
services were required, it was with evident satisfaction 



358 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK HI. 



he resigned that command, when its duties were ful- 
filled, and returned to his lowly residence, to employ 
his time in literary pursuits and rural occupations. 
And when his ungrateful countrymen rewarded his 
long and faithful services with an ignominious death, 
this excellent Athenian both exercised and enjoined 
upon his children, that meek and forgiving temper, 
that forgetfulness of wrongs, and love to his enemies, 
which shed a lustre upon all his other qualities, 
and gilded the last closing scene of life. Yet these 
lovely dispositions, which were the highest attainments 
of heathen morality, fall far short of the triumphs of 
benevolence exhibited by Christian martyrs, who ar- 
dently prayed for their murderers in the midst of tor- 
tures and flames ; much less will they bear a compa- 
rison with the infinite compassion of the Redeemer of 
mankind, whose latest breath was expended in fer- 
vent intercessions for his enemies. " Father, forgive 
them, they know not what they do," exclaimed the 
languishing sufierer, just before he bowed his head 
and expired ! 

A further proof was given of the inconstancy and 
degeneracy of the Athenians, in their base desertion 
of Demetrius Phalerius, in favour of the profligate 
son of Antigonus. The former of these had proved him- 
self, during the ten years of his government, the best 
friend of Athens, by his unremitting endeavours to 
correct public abuses, and to elevate her moral charac- 
ter. But these attempts, instead of securing the 
affections and gratitude of the Athenians, provoked 
their hatred, and disposed them to receive a governor, 
whose flagrant vices would sanction their crimes, and 
whose love of conquest would gratify their ambition. 



ESSAY XI. DEMETRIUS PHALERIUS. 



359 



Is it not thus that the depraved heart of man despises 
the counsels of a heavenly Friend, repays his benefits 
with ingratitude, and casts off his mild and easy yoke, 
whilst a cordial reception is given, and willing obedi- 
ence paid, to those fleshly lusts which war against 
the soul ?" Is it not thus that the bondage of Satan, 
the tyranny of the world, and the dominion of sinful 
passions, are preferred to the " liberty wherewith 
Christ has made us free ?" 

It is more than probable that the exiled Demetrius 
found much greater satisfaction in the unostentatious 
task of collecting the Alexandrian library and museum, 
than he had previously found in conducting the afikirs 
of a turbulent republic. He had no cause to envy, in 
his dignified literary retirement, the rival Demetrius, 
engaged in fruitless sieges, or immersed in criminal 
pleasures ; or the more warlike Pyrrhus, spreading 
desolation and terror throughout the world. Posterity 
may contemplate with admiration the triumphs of the 
latter ; but they will ever feel grateful for the labours 
of the former, to which they are chiefly indebted for 
the preservation of many valuable relics of antiquity. 
They are, above all, indebted to the institution, 
founded by the advice, and placed under the super- 
intendency, of Demetrius, for the translation of the 
Holy Scriptures into a language which was then 
almost universal — for a version the most ancient and 
venerable, and on which a peculiar degree of sanctity 
is impressed, by the frequent use made of it by the 
inspired writers of the New Testament, and probably 
by our Saviour himself. 



360 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



ESSAY XII. 
On Agis and Cleomenes, the Spartan Reformers. 
FROM A. C. 248—220. 

The encroachments which were made on the ancient 
constitution of Sparta at different periods have been 
adverted to in several of the preceding essays. The 
most remarkable corruption of the laws of Lycurgus, 
took place during the administrations of Lysander and 
Agesilaus, whose conquests poured a tide of wealth 
into their country, which was quickly followed by a yet 
more destructive inundation of luxury, avarice, and 
voluptuousness. The principal barriers having been 
thrown down, abuses of the most flagrant kind per- 
vaded every department of the state, and threatened 
the total subversion of the republic. The ephori, 
whose influence far exceeded that of the kings, became 
a most arbitrary and corrupt body, and instead of an- 
swering the end of their appointment, by counteract- 
ing the despotism of the crown, and turbulence of the 
people, tyrannized over both. A law introduced by 
one of that body, permitting the head of a family to 
dispose of his patrimony, and disinherit his children, 
had operated to the destruction of the judicious system 
of Lycurgus, by transferring the wealth of Laconia 
into the hands of a few, and reducing the mass of the 
population to extreme penury. 

Such was the state of public aflTairs when Agis, the 
son of Eudamidas ascended the throne, in the twen- 
tieth year of his age. He was associated in the go- 
vernment with Leonidas, a prince, whose avarice and 
attachment to the prevailing corruptions of that dege- 



ESSAY XH. 



AGIS. 



361 



nerate age, rendered him unworthy of the patriotic 
name he bore. The family of Agis was considered the 
most opulent in Sparta, and the young prince himself 
inherited from his father a splendid patrimony. But 
neither the abundance of his wealth, nor the indulgent 
fondness of his mother, Agesistrata, and his grand- 
mother, Archidamia, by whom he was educated in 
luxurious ease, prevented him from forming the design 
in his youth — a design from which he never swerved — 
of restoring the ancient discipline of Sparta. He pro- 
perly began with reforming himself, by renouncing all 
habits of self-indulgence, laying aside all his costly 
and splendid attire, and partaking of the plainest and 
simplest food. His next object w^s to secure some 
powerful friends, who would support his projected 
measures of reform, whenever he should deem it pru- 
dent to bring them forward. It was especially import- 
ant to obtain some partisans amongst the rich, from 
whom the greatest sacrifices would be required, and 
whose opposition he had most reason to apprehend. 
Having gained over his uncle Agesilaus, his mother 
and grandmother, (all of whom w ere exceedingly rich,) 
and procured the appointment of his warmest friend, 
Lysander, to be a member of the ephori, he brought 
forward a decree, the principal articles of which w^ere, 
" the cancelling of all debts — the division of the lands 
throughout Laconia into equal portions — the admission 
of those strangers to a share in the division of the 
lands, who had long resided amongst them, were fit to 
bear arms, and willing to submit to the Spartan disci- 
pline — and, finally, the re-establishment of the neg- 
lected laws of Lycurgus, relative to public education 
and public meals." 



HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK III. 



The decree was lost in the council of the ephori by 
one vote. But Agis was not discouraged from pur- 
suing an object, which, he was persuaded, involved 
the safety and the very existence of Sparta. He sum- 
moned an assembly of the people, in which both he 
and his friend Lysander, advocated, with much abi- 
lity, the cause of reform, compared the present cha- 
racter of the Spartans with the glory of their ances- 
tors, traced the progress of public corruption and 
national degeneracy, reminded them of the oath under 
which they lay to preserve inviolate the institutions of 
Lycurgus, and concluded with professing their readi- 
ness to sacrifice their property, and give up their 
ample possessions for the public good. Such argu- 
ments could not fail to produce a powerful effect on a 
popular assembly, who eagerly embraced the proposed 
decree. Leonidas had ventured openly to oppose the 
measure, encouraged by the support of the senate and 
wealthier citizens of Sparta ; but, instead of succeed- 
ing in his opposition, he was compelled to abdicate 
his throne, and take refuge in the temple of Minerva, 
from the violence of an enraged populace. Cleom- 
brotus, his son-in-law, who was well known to be 
favourable to the projected reform, was chosen to suc- 
ceed him. Strengthened by the cordial concurrence 
of his new colleague, Agis proceeded to carry into 
effect the decree of the assembly. Its first article was 
faithfully performed ; all contracts, bonds, and pro- 
missory bills were collected and publicly burned ; all 
debts were remitted by mutual consent. The ardent 
prince of Lacedaemon designed the immediate execu- 
tion of the whole plan, but he was surrounded by many 
insincere friends and false patriots, who continually 



ESSAY XII. 



AGIS. 



363 



thwarted his designs, and contrived to delay the pro- 
mised distribution of the lands, till Agis was obliged 
to quit Sparta, and take the command of the army ap- 
pointed to act with Aratus, against the ^tolians. 

The departure of Agis at such a crisis gave general 
dissatisfaction — the partisans of the exiled king gained 
strength during his absence — and a conspiracy was 
matured, which broke out immediately after the return 
of that prince from a successful campaign. And now 
the scene was quickly reversed ; Leonidas was recalled 
and restored to his former honours ; Agis and Cleom- 
brotus, in their turn, were compelled to take refuge in 
different temples. Thither the revenge of Leonidas 
followed his fallen adversaries. So enraged was he 
against Cleombrotus, who had presumed to occupy his 
throne, that he would have forced him from his asylum, 
and put him to the sword, had not his daughter, the 
amiable and affectionate Chelonida, interceded so 
powerfully and successfully, as to obtain permission for 
her husband to withdraw from Laconia, and live in 
perpetual exile. Nor could any arguments or entrea- 
ties prevail upon this excellent female to forsake him 
in his adversity, whom she had willingly renounced in 
his prosperity, to attend upon her royal parent in 
similar circumstances. Such a rare example of filial 
tenderness and conjugal affection deserves to be had 
in perpetual remembrance. 

But Agis had no such suppliant to plead his cause. 
His death alone could satisfy the revenge of Leonidas ; 
and, however unjust the act, however dan«gerous to the 
commonwealth, it was determined to carry it into 
effect as soon as possible. Three of the most confi- 
dential friends of Agis, who used to attend upon him 



364 



HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK III. 



in his asylum, were corrupted and induced to betray 
him. They prevailed upon him to go from the temple 
to an adjacent bath, and, on his way thither, treache- 
rously seized and dragged him before the ephori. All 
the members of that council were his personal enemies, 
from whom, therefore, he had neither mercy nor jus- 
tice to expect. Loaded with reproaches, and treated 
with the utmost indignity, this patriotic prince was 
summarily tried, condemned, and hurried to a dun- 
geon, under a strong escort of guards. But neither 
the cruelty of his enemies, nor the treachery of his 
friends, could shake the undaunted mind of Agis. 
Conscious of the purity of his motives, he defied their 
utmost malice, and persisted in asserting that the un- 
dertaking in which he had failed, was necessary to the 
salvation of his country, and one of which he could 
never repent. 

The tumultuous conduct of the people, who now 
began to assemble round the wall of the prison, and the 
zeal of his friends, who were taking measures for his 
rescue, accelerated, instead of prevented the execu- 
tion of their favourite prince. He was privately stran- 
gled in his dungeon, by the express order of the tyrant. 
Scarcely had he suffered death, when his mother and 
grandmother, who were as yet ignorant of the event, so- 
licited permission to take a last sad farewell of their 
beloved and honoured child. With the fond hope of 
realizing this melancholy pleasure, they entered the 
prison, whose ponderous gates were immediately closed 
upon them. They w^re conducted to the dreary cell by 
the treacherous Amphares, who had basely betrayed 
his friend, and now feasted with malignant delight on 
the horror excited by so unexpected and heart-rending 



ESSAY XII. 



CLEOMENES. 



365 



a spectacle. Having first tortured these venerable 
matrons v^^ith a Yiew of the strangled body of Agis, 
the inhuman tyrant ordered the executioner to termi- 
nate their existence with the same fatal cord. 

Archidamus, the brother of Agis, escaped by a pre- 
cipitate flight; but the young and beautiful Agiatis, 
his vrife, was unable to follow him to his place of exile. 
By a refinement of cruelty, Leonidas compelled this 
desolate female, whose possessions he coveted, to 
marry his son, Cleomenes, who, soon afterwards, was 
called to the throne by his father's death. Cleomenes 
was a stranger to the malignant, revengeful spirit of 
his parent. He became ardently attached to Agiatis, 
and tenderly sympathized with her in all her sorrows. 
He listened frequently with the deepest interest to the 
sad recital of the sufferings and death of Agis, related 
with all the tenderness of grief by his beloved consort. 
Often would he weep with her over the tragical scene, 
till, by degrees, his sympathy grew into admiration, 
and he aspired to emulate the virtues, imitate the ex- 
ample, and execute the unfinished designs of that il- 
lustrious patriot. He assumed the same simplicity of 
manners, the same habits of self-denial, and the same 
condescending deportment. Like Agis, he conformed 
himself with the most rigid exactness to the ancient 
discipline of Sparta. 

In the beginning of his reign, a war broke out be. 
tween the Spartans and Achaeans, which delayed, for 
a time, the execution of his plan of reform. But his 
first act after his return, was indicative of the fixed 
purpose of his mind. Convinced that the failure of 
Agis was chiefly to be ascribed to the mildness of his 
disposition and leniency of his measures, -CJleomenes 



366 



HISTORY OP GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



resolved to act with vigour and decision. He sup- 
pressed the council of ephori, which he considered as 
the fountain-head of corruption. A band of Spartan 
youths entered their residence, and put four of them 
to the sword, the fifth with difiiculty effected his escape. 
The principal obstacle to reform having thus been re- 
moved by the strong arm of power, an assembly was 
called, in which all the decrees of Agis were adopted, 
and the constitution of Sparta restored to its pristine 
simplicity and vigour. A general division of lands took 
place, of which Cleomenes set the first example, by 
giving up his own hereditary estates ; and public schools 
were established, in which the Spartan youth were 
trained up according to the severest laws of Lycurgus. 

But the result proved how vain was the attempt to 
reform a people whose character and habits were 
wholly depraved, and to pluck up abuses which had 
taken such deep root. It was not difficult to prohibit 
the use of gold, but no laws could eradicate the love of 
gold, which now degraded the Spartan character. 
Neither of these ardent reformers considered the cor- 
rupt state both of the higher and lower classes of so- 
ciety, and the luxurious manners of the age in which 
they lived ; or they would never have expected the se- 
vere discipline and rigid laws of Lycurgus, to obtain 
a permanent establishment amongst them. Notwith- 
standing the sanction given to this political renovation 
of Sparta, by the example of Cleomenes, and the firm- 
ness of his conduct in effecting it, the Lacedsemonians 
reluctantly submitted to regulations, which, while they 
professed to admire, they secretly hated, and deter- 
mined, as soon as possible, to abolish. No sooner had 
Cleomenes quitted Sparta, to take the command of the 



ESSAY XII. AGIS AND CLEOMENES. 



367 



army, than the galling yoke was thrown off, and the 
new discipline relaxed. 

Cleomenes was, at first, victorious in several engage- 
ments with the Achaeans ; but, after Antigonus united 
his forces to those of Achaia, he was unable to with- 
stand so formidable an adversary, who possessed every 
advantage which superiority of numbers and military 
science could afford. A general engagement took place 
at Sellasia, in which, the Spartan army was almost 
annihilated by the united legions of Macedonia and 
Achaia. The vanquished Cleomenes, fearing his dis- 
affected subjects no less than the destructive sword of 
the enemy, fled to Egypt, where he lived in peace and 
honour for several years, the friend and counsellor of 
the reigning monarch. But the next king of Egypt, a 
prince of a far different character, became jealous of 
the popularity and influence of Cleomenes, and having 
made him a close prisoner, treated the high-spirited 
prince of Sparta with such indignities and cruelty, as 
induced him to destroy himself. His body was after- 
wards exposed on a cross, and both his mother and chil- 
dren were massacred by order of the sanguinary tyrant. 
Plut. in Agid. et Cleomen. Polyb. lib. 2. 



REFLECTIONS. 

No human institutions, however excellent, can lay a 
just claim to perfection ; nor is there a fabric of hu- 
man wisdom to be found, which discovers no symp- 
toms of decay. The political edifice of Lycurgus, was 
supposed to be constructed of imperishable materials ; 
it was imagined that its parts were so firmly cemented 
together, as to defy the ravages of time, or the more 



368 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



baneful influence of corruption ; it was considered as 
an impregnable fortress, in which no engine of de- 
struction could make a practicable breach. But ere 
many years had rolled along, this structure was ob- 
served to fall into decay; its foundations were under- 
mined, and its walls broken down ; till, at length, its 
ruins alone remained, a melancholy relic of fallen 
greatness, and a perpetual memorial of human frailty. 
Such marks of decay are visible, after a short period, 
in the firmest political constitution, the purest form 
of civil government, or the most perfect system of le- 
gislation. Such a tendency to deterioration and cor- 
ruption, characterizes all the works of man. 

The renovator of a decayed government undertakes 
a far more difficult task than that of the founder of an 
empire, or conqueror of the world. It is not, indeed, 
difficult to detect and expose corrupt practices ; a mo- 
derate share of penetration will enable the statesman 
to bring to light existing evils, and hold them up to 
universal abhorrence ; but to remedy those evils, to 
eradicate those corruptions, to restore health and vi- 
gour to a diseased and languishing state, and, in doing 
this, to conciliate the furious passions, and reconcile 
the jarring interests of mankind, calls for a combina- 
tion of wisdom, prudence, courage, and integrity, 
rarely to be found. Few have been placed in more 
favourable circumstances to attempt a radical reform 
of public abuses than Agis and Cleomenes. They were 
not private individuals, but in actual possession of the 
crown, and, by virtue of their regal office, at the head 
of the legions of Sparta^ — they were intimately con- 
nected with many of the most powerful families in the 
republic — ^they conformed strictly to the regulations 



ESSAY XII. AGIS AND CLEOMENES. 



369 



proposed for general adoption — they were distinguished 
by their birth, fortune, talents, and virtues. Yet their 
most strenuous efforts failed : the former was cut off 
long before he could carry into effect his great designs ; 
and the latter had no sooner completed them, than he 
was compelled to seek that shelter in a foreign court > 
which his own subjects denied him. Such has usually 
been the issue of the most ardent, upright, and well- 
directed attempts to stem the torrent of corruption in 
a degenerate age, and amongst a degraded people ! So 
averse have men been found in all periods of their 
history, to adopt measures which tended to their ulti- 
mate advantage, at the expense of their present in- 
terests ! So inimical have they proved themselves to 
those who endeavoured to render them virtuous and 
happy against their will. 

But arduous and difficult as is the task of the poli- 
tical reformer, who endeavours to bring order out of 
confusion, and substitute salutary laws and discipline 
for licentious anarchy and public corruption — there is a 
duty of universal obligation, which is attended with far 
greater difficulty, and calls for superior wisdom. It is 
" our high calling,'" to pluck up and destroy the deeply- 
rooted corruptions of a depraved heart — to control the 
appetites and passions of a sensual mind — ^to subdue 
sinful habits which were early formed, and have been 
long indulged — and '* to cleanse ourselves from all 
filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in 
the fear of God." Does the ardent reformer contend 
that his measures are necessary to the salvation of his 
country — with much greater certainty may it be af- 
firmed that this moral renovation is necessary to save 
the soul. Is it contended by the zealous patriot, that no 

2 B 



370 



HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK III. 



time is to be lost in hesitation and delay — that a par- 
tial reformation will not avail — and that a radical cure- 
must be effected — all these arguments may be urged 
with infallible truth and augmented force, on the can- 
didates for an immortal crown, and a heavenly inherit- 
ance. The Spartan reformers, whose melancholy end 
has been related, not only failed in their patriotic de- 
sign, but brought destruction on themselves and their 
families. But the great advantage of the Christian re- 
former consists in the abundance of his resources, and 
the certainty of his success. He is strengthened for the 
arduous conflict by Omnipotence itself, and may calcu- 
late with assured but humble confidence on " receiving 
the end of his faith, even the salvation of his soul.*' 



ESSAY XIII. 
On the Achaan League under Aratus and Philo- 

PCBMEN. 

THE former died A. C. 216. THE LATTER A. C. 183. 

The Achaean confederacy was formed long before 
the period to which the present essay refers. It origi- 
nally consisted of twelve Peloponnesian cities*, all of 
which were small and inconsiderable, but so firmly 
united together as to command the respect of their 
more powerful neighbours. They were deprived of their 
liberties and independence by Philip of Macedon, and 
continued subject to petty tyrants imposed upon them 

* The names of these cities were, Patra, Dyma, Pharse, Tritea, 
Leontium. Mgium, Pellene, Mg'ira, Olenus, Helice, Bura, and 
Ceraiinia. 



ESSAY XIII. 



ARATUS. 



371 



by his successors, till the reign of Pyrrhus, (A.C. 280.) 
when the Achaean league revived, and several of the 
tyrants were expelled or put to death. The cities which 
first threw off the yoke were Patra and Dyma ; and 
their example was quickly followed by iEgium, Bura, 
and Ceraunia. After an interval of twenty -five years, 
Sicyon joined the league, chiefly through the influence 
of Aratus, a native of that city, who had just freed it 
from the tyranny of Nicocles, and restored its ancient 
laws and government. 

The principles on which the Achfean league was con- 
stituted, were strictly democratical. All the inhabi- 
tants of the several cities forming this confederacy, 
chose, from amongst themselves, deputies to the ge- 
neral assembly or diet, in which the supreme authority 
was lodged, and to whose decision all questions of 
peace or war, and all foreign and domestic concerns, 
were referred. This assembly was regularly convened 
twice a year, at whose meeting, a chief magistrate and 
ten subordinate officers were appointed to conduct the 
civil and military affairs of the confederation. 

The first of these who rose to eminence, and whose 
talents shed a lustre upon the whole confederacy over 
which he presided, was Aratus of Sicyon, whose first 
public act, performed in the 20th year of his age, has 
been already mentioned. He was formed for great and 
arduous enterprises, particularly when alliances were to 
be negotiated, or expeditions planned, which required 
extraordinary skill and judgment. His views were li- 
beral and comprehensive, his motives patriotic, his 
principles unbending. When first elected to the su- 
preme magistracy, the affairs of the Achaeans were pe- 
culiarly embarrassed, and their treasury exhausted; 

2 B 2 



372 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



FOOK II 



but Aratus used the influence he had formerly ac- 
quired with Ptolemy, king of Egypt, to obtain a sea- 
sonable supply both for his native city and the repub- 
lic. The success of his embassy to Egy^pt greatly in- 
creased his reputation, and acquired him the unlimited 
confidence of the Sicyonians and Achaeans. 

But jealousy, which was the evil daemon of the 
Greeks, disturbed the tranquillity of this rising state. 
The restless and ambitious JEtolians watched with an 
anxious eye, the growing reputation and rapidly in- 
creasing power of the Achaeans ; and, unmindful of 
the signal benefits they had received from the league, 
excited several Grecian states, and especially Sparta, 
to proclaim war against them. Cleomenes was sent 
by the ephori, at the head of a large army, to seize 
Megalopolis, which belonged to the Achaeans, and 
was defended by Aratus. The cool and denberate va- 
lour of Aratus could oppose no effectual resistance to 
the ardent impetuosity of Cleomenes, who took several 
cities of the confederacy, gained repeated victories 
over the allies, and reduced them to the utmost extre- 
mity. No alternative remained, but to solicit the aid 
of Antigonus, king of Macedon, who eagerly embraced 
the opportunity of entering the Peloponnesus with a 
powerful army. By his assistance, the Lacedaemo- 
nians were completely vanquished at Sellasia, Cleo- 
menes put to flight, and Sparta taken without resist- 
ance. In this war between the Macedonians and 
Spartans, Philopoemen first signalized himself, and 
afforded early proof of those transcendent military ta- 
lents which afterwards rendered him so illustrious. 

The alliance which had been formed between Ara- 
tus, on the part of the Achaeans, and Antigonus, king 



•ESSAY XIII. 



PHiLOPCEMEN. 



373 



of Macedon, continued throughout the reign of Philip, 
notwithstanding the intrigues of courtiers and ene- 
mies, who used all their arts to dissolve it, without 
success. The prudent firmness and wise policy of 
Aratus frustrated all their designs, and rendered 
even the ambition of Philip subservient to the inte- 
rests and liberties of Achaia. The victories of the 
AchaBans, and high reputation of their leader, in- 
duced many to join the confederacy. Its protection 
was solicited by the injured and oppressed, in every 
part of Greece, who looked to this powerful league as 
their last refuge, the citadel of expiring freedom. Its 
enemies were gradually conciliated by the wisdom and 
moderation of Aratus, who, at length, accomplished a 
general pacification; which was concluded at Nau- 
pactus, between Philip and the Achasans on the one 
part, and the ^Etolians, Lacedaemonians, and Elians, 
on the other. 

Soon after the ratification of this treaty, Aratus 
offended Philip; over whom he had long possessed an 
entire influence, by remonstrating against a favourite 
measure of the king, which he considered a violation 
of public faith. The interference of the Achsean ge- 
neral led to his death ; for the revengeful monarch 
sent an emissary into Achaia with secret instructions to 
insinuate himself into the friendship of Aratus, till he 
could find a favourable opportunity of administering a 
slow poison. The progress of the disease was so gra- 
dual, that none but Aratus suspected its cause, nor did 
the secret escape his lips, except on one occasion , 
when he remarked to a bosom friend, who observed 
his painful symptoms, " These, my beloved Cepha- 
lon, are the consequences of friendship with kings.'' 



374 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



His death was greatly lamented throughout Greece^ 
but especially by the Achaeans, who justly esteemed 
him the pillar of their confederacy. He was interred 
at Sicyon with great pomp, and, according to the im- 
pious custom of those times, divine honours were de- 
creed to him after his death, and sacrifices annually 
offered at his tomb. 

From this period the affairs of Greece are intimately 
connected with those of Rome. The Macedonians and 
Romans struggled for the sovereignty of a country, 
which no longer retained a shadow of independence. 
Both parties solicited the friendship of the Achaeans, 
who still maintained their influence, and even dis- 
played greater vigour, under the conduct of Philopoe- 
men. Influenced partly by resentment against Philip 
for the murder of Aratus, and partly by a high opinion 
of the generosity of the Romans, the Achaean league 
decided at length in favour of the latter. The republic 
of Rome was at that time so fully occupied with the 
Carthaginian war, that few of its legions could be 
spared to prosecute that of Macedonia ; but these few 
troops, added to the whole strength of the Achaean 
confederacy, and conducted by a general like Philo- 
poemen, were irresistible. The most formidable re- 
sistance was made by Nabis, the sanguinary tyrant of 
Lacedaemon, whose reign was a series of the most bar- 
barous and unparalleled cruelties, practised upon his 
wretched subjects, who were no longer worthy of the 
name of Spartans. Philopoemen defeated the tyrant 
in several battles, and, after the death of Nabis, pre- 
vailed upon the Spartans to join the Achaean league. 

About this time the Romans adopted a measure, 
which tended, more than all their conquests, to 



ESSAY XIII. 



PHILOPCEMEN. 



375 



^ strengthen their interests in Greece. At a general 
assembly, collected to celebrate the Isthmian games, a 
herald proclaimed, by order of the Roman general 
Quintus Flaminius, and in the name of the senate and 
people of Rome, '* freedom to all the cities and states 
of Greece, with full permission to elect their own ma- 
gistrates, and adopt their own laws and usages." 
This proclamation was heard with the most rapturous 
joy by the deluded multitude, who were not aware that 
the apparent generosity of this act was subservient to 
the artful and interested policy of the Romans, and 
that their deliverers were, at the same moment, forg- 
ing chains for the persons whom they professed to 
liberate. Whatever might be the views of the Roman 
proconsul himself, the subsequent conduct of the 
Roman senate and people gave too much reason to 
suspect their sincerity, and furnished just occasion to 
accuse them of subjugating a people by false profes- 
sions, whom they were then unable to conquer by 
force of arms. 

Scarcely had these days of festivity passed away, 
when new disturbances arose in Greece, occasioned by 
the secession of the Messenians, Elians, and Lacedae- 
monians from the Achaean league. Philopoemen was 
sent to reduce the Spartans to subjection, an enter- 
prise which he accomplished With so much vigour, as 
quickly to constrain the Lacedaemonians to demolish 
the walls of their capital, to recall their exiles, and to 
exchange the laws of Lycurgus for those of Achaia. 
The brilliancy of this exploit reflected so much honour 
on the Achaean confederacy, that its friendship was . 
eagerly sought by all the princes of Asia ; and, for the 
same cause, it became an object of jealousy to the 



376 HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK III. 



Romans, who affected to commiserate the degraded 
state of the Spartans, for whom they now professed 
the warmest friendship. 

The next enterprise of Philopoemen proved fatal to 
that renowned general, though it was in itself far less 
difficult. When attacking the Messenians with too 
great ardour, he was cut off from the main body of his 
army by a detachment of the enemy, and, in attempt- 
ing to escape, was thrown from his horse amongst the 
rocks, where the Messenians found him, senseless 
and desperately wounded. In this condition he was 
carried to Messenia, shut up in a subterraneous dun- 
geon, and sentenced by the senate to immediate death. 
When the cup of poison was brought to the illustrious 
captive, he calmly inquired whether his army had 
escaped, and, on being informed of their safety, he re- 
plied, "then I can die contented," and immediately 
drank, with apparent cheerfulness, the deadly potion. 
Ample revenge was taken by the Megalopolitans, his 
fellow-citizens, for this barbarous deed ; for they no 
sooner heard of the death of their illustrious chief, 
than they hastened to Messenia, ravaged the country, 
took the capital by storm, and stoned to death many 
of its principal inhabitants at the tomb of Philopoe- 
men. That general has been not unfitly called " the 
last of the Greeks." His death took place in the 
same year with that of Hannibal and Scipio, with 
whom he was classed by Polybius, a contemporary 
historian, who assisted in his funeral solemnities, and 
has transmitted to posterity a splendid character of 
his lamented friend. 

Polyb. Hist, et in legat. Li v. Hist. lib. 24—34. Plut. in Phi- 
lopoem. Justin, lib. 31, ^c. 



Essay xiii. 



LIBERATION OF GREECE. 



377 



REFLECTIONS. 

Many of the facts contained in former essays have 
tended to shew the advantages of union, but none 
more obviously than those v^hich have been just re- 
lated. They exhibit the interesting spectacle of a re- 
public, free amidst slaves, invincible amidst enemies, 
undaunted amidst dangers — w^hose freedom, safety, 
and success can be ascribed to its union alone. They 
present to our view an association, rising almost un- 
noticed in the midst of Greece, consisting only of a 
few obscure cities, to fortune and to fame un- 
known," yet so firmly consolidated by the wisdom of 
its constitution — the equity of its laws — the policy of 
its rulers — and, above all, the harmony of its mem- 
bers — as to maintain its independence amidst the jea- 
lousies of rival states, and the vortices of insatiable 
ambition. They shew us a fraternal league, in itself 
inconsiderable, yet respected alike by the Macedonian 
and Roman powers, courted by the voluptuous mo- 
narchs of Asia, dreaded by tyrants in every part of 
Greece, and upholding for a short time the tottering 
fabric of Grecian liberty, till it was at length crushed 
beneath its ruins. Could the cities which formed 
this confederation have risen to such eminence, or 
acquired such influence, by any possible combination 
of circumstances, without union? If they had been 
discordant in their views and feelings, or had with- 
holden their confidence from their chosen leaders, in 
vain had Aretus exerted his diplomatic skill, or Phi- 
lopoemen displayed his military prowess ; Achaia had 
quickly become, like proud but divided Sparta, the 
prey of some sanguinary Nabis, or, like Thessaly 



378 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK lit. 



and Carthage, had merged its liberty in the Roman or 
Macedonian empires. Let Britain learn from historic 
facts like these, the necessity of continuing united, if 
she would be invincible. Let her know, that she can 
only hope to retain, amidst the wreck of nations, the 
pre-eminent station she has long held, by a wise, a 
just, a liberal policy, which shall conciliate all hearts, 
as well as engage all hands. 

Aratus is not the only character who has fallen a 
sacrifice to sincerity and uprightness. All who are 
resolved to prove themselves faithful monitors, must 
expect to share with him in the hatred and revenge of 
those whom they reprove. Especially if the persons 
admonished be possessed of authority, if they be 
vain-glorious, proud or ambitious, elated with self- 
confidence, and rendered arrogant by prosperity. The 
friendship of such characters can only be retained by 
unlawful compliances and dishonest concealments, by 
flattering their follies, and winking at their crimes 
Whoever ventures to imitate, under such circum- 
stances, the conduct of Aratus, must calculate on re- 
ceiving his reward. It was thus that the Apostles of 
Jesus Christ incurred the hatred, and were subjected 
to the cruel revenge both of the Jews and Gentiles, 
because they reproved the unbelief of the former, and 
condemned the superstitions of the latter. It was 
thus that the Saviour of mankind was accounted by 
the chief priests and rulers of the Jews "their enemy, 
because he told them the truth." 

The Greeks assembled at the Isthmian games caught 
with rapture the joyful sound of liberty. They re- 
verberated the welcome tidings through the rocks 
and mountains, the hills and valleys, the cities and 



ESSAY XIII. LIBERAtlON OF GREECE. 



379 



villages of Greece. But when proclamation is made 
of a more glorious liberty — <* the liberty wherewith 
Christ has made us free" — when the heralds of salva- 
tion announce in the name of Jehovah, liberty to 
the captives and the opening of the prison to them 
that are bound" — -alas ! the divine message is heard 
by thousands of wretched slaves with the coldest in- 
difference ; it is forgotten as soon as heard ; it is 
practically disbelieved, even by those who profess to 
give it credit ! 

The joy of the Greeks on this memorable occasion 
was illusive, and may therefore fitly represent the 
mirth of the wicked. Often do we hear the votaries 
of criminal pleasure, boasting of their freedom, and 
exulting in their imaginary felicity. But it is only 
the phantom of liberty which they grasp ; the gratifi- 
cations in which they indulge are visionary ; and 
whilst unconscious of the treacherous designs of the 
great deceiver, they are led into willing captivity, and 
reduced to the condition of abject slaves. 



ESSAY XIV. 

On the Destruction q/* Corinth by the Romans, and 
the consequent Subjugation of Achaia and Greece, 

A.C. 146. 

The death of Philopoemen was an irreparable cala- 
mity, not only to Achaia, but to the whole of Greece. 
Immediately after that event, the influence of the 
Achaeans manifestly began to decline, and their little 
remaining strength was neutralized by divided coun- 



380 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III* 



sels. The other Grecian states, blinded by jealousy, 
and deceived by the false professions of the Romans, 
rejoiced in the decay of a republic, which once seemed 
formidable to them, but which they now no longer 
dreaded. Almost every city was divided into three 
parties: the Macedonian, consisting of those who 
were willing to place themselves under the protection 
of the empire of Macedon ; the Roman, consisting of 
those who relied implicitly on the promises, and con- 
fided in the boasted generosity, of the senate and 
people of Rome ; and the independent party, who 
wished to preserve their ancient liberties and laws, 
without soliciting the protection, or acknowledging 
the authority, of any foreign power. In this distracted 
state of society, without a statesman of commanding 
genius to guide their deliberations, or a general of 
superior talents to head their armies, it could scarcely 
be expected, that a vigorous and determined effort 
would be made by the Greeks in defence of their li- 
berties, which they seemed ready to resign of their 
own accord to the most successful competitor. 

The Romans, in the mean time, adopted the most 
cautious line of policy. Unwilling to commence hosti- 
lities against the Achaeans, till Macedonia was con_ 
quered, they professed to adhere to the proclamation of 
the proconsul Flaminius ; to decline all interference 
with Grecian affairs ; or, at most, to proceed no farther 
than to the appointment of commissioners, who should 
represent the Roman senate in their deliberative assem- 
blies. But when Paulus ^milius had defeated Per- 
seus, the king of Macedon, taken possession of his 
empire, and annexed it to the Roman republic, the 
mask was immediately thrown off. ^tolia first felt 



ESSAY XIV. DESTRUCTION OF CORINTH. 



381 



the weight of the vindictive arm of the conqueror ; for 
when her senate was assembled to deliberate on the 
steps they should pursue after the conquest of Perseus, 
with whom they had formed an alliance, they were 
suddenly surrounded by a Roman legion, and five 
hundred and fifty of the senators, who were considered 
friendly to Macedon, were put to death. In vain did 
the ^tolian deputies remonstrate against this unjust 
measure ; the deed was approved by the Roman senate, 
and the murderers acquitted. Emissaries were sent 
into every part of Greece, to obtain information of 
those who were disaff'ected to the Roman government, 
and every artifice was employed to obtain possession 
of their persons, that they might be summarily tried 
and condemned by the commissioners, who had been, 
sent to settle the afiairs of Greece. 

The Achaean confederacy was the only remaining 
obstacle to the entire subjugation of Greece. It was 
therefore determined by the Roman senate to dissolve 
that league, and a plan was laid to effect its dissolution 
without hazard or loss. Two of the above-mentioned 
commissioners appeared before the general assembly 
of 'Achaia, and accused a great number of the princi- 
pal members of the confederacy (including all who 
had borne any civil office, or executed any military 
commission in the republic,) of disaffection to Rome. 
Many of these, conscious of their integrity, appealed 
to the Roman senate, where they flattered themselves 
they should find impartial justice. The appeal was 
eagerly accepted, and no less than a thousand of the 
chief citizens of Achaia were sent to Rome for trial. 
But, instead of being permitted to plead their cause 
before the senate, on their arrival at that city, they 



382 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



were treated as guilty of the charge, and banished into 
different parts of Italy, where they languished in cap- 
tivity seventeen years. At the expiration of that 
period, the survivors, amounting to not more than 
three hundred, were permitted to return to Achaia. 
One of these prisoners, Polybius the historian, was 
suffered to reside at Rome, and treated with the highest 
distinction by thej)rincipal families in the republic. 

The injustice and cruelty of the Romans to the 
Achaean prisoners produced a strong sensation through- 
out the league, and inclined many of its members to 
avow themselves openly the determined enemies of 
Rome. Two of its praetors, Critolaus and Diaeus, 
were particularly active in exciting the Achaean cities 
to revolt, and, without considering either the vast 
resources of the enemy, or their own inefficiency, 
rashly enkindled the flames of war, by treating with 
insult and cruelty the Roman ambassadors. Aurelius 
Orestes, Sextus Julius, and Metellus, were succes- 
sively despatched to Achaia with conciliatory over- 
tures, but the people yielded themselves to the infa- 
tuation of their presumptuous leaders, and rejected 
every overture with disdain. The Roman general 
Metellus, having tried negotiation without effect, led 
his army into Achaia, met, and defeated with the ut- 
most ease, the rash and unskilful Critolaus, who was 
either killed in the engagement, or destroyed himself 
immediately afterwards. But Diaeus, who succeeded 
him in the presidency of the Achaeans, pursued the 
same infatuated measures, and employed the winter 
in making feeble preparations for another campaign. 

The affairs of Greece having arrived at this crisis, 
the consul Mumtnius hastened thither to supersede 



ESSAY XIV. DESTRUCTION OF CORINTH. 383 

Metellus, and reap all the glory of adding another 
province to the Roman republic. He sat down w^ith a 
numerous army before Corinth, and knowing the im- 
petuous temper of the Achaean general, suffered him 
to gain some slight advantages, that he might the 
more effectually entrap him. The artifice succeeded, 
Diaeus and his army fell into the ambuscade, and the 
celebrated city of Corinth was taken without opposi- 
tion. Corinth had long been the richest city in Greece ; 
it abounded with the most exquisite productions of art,, 
and the finest specimens of taste ; the most eminent 
sculptors and artists had either resided there, or con- 
veyed thither the mightiest efforts of their genius, as- 
sured of meeting with liberal patronage amongst the 
refined inhabitants of that luxurious city. Yet this 
seat of elegant literature, this emporium of taste and 
learning was devoted to plunder. The Romans had 
not yet attained to so high a degree of intellectual re- 
finement, as to value the literary treasures of Corinth ; 
anxious chiefly to secure the gold and silver it con- 
tained, the greater part of these were consigned ta 
the flames. A few specimens only were secured by 
Polybius, who witnessed the melancholy scene, and 
who transported them to Rome to excite the admira- 
tion of future generations and distant ages. The once- 
celebrated city of Corinth was reduced to ashes, pur- 
suant to an express decree of the Roman senate, nine 
hundred and fifty-two years after it was founded, and 
in the same year in which Carthage met with a similar 
fate. 

Nothing now remained but to decide on the punish- 
ment of the vanquished Greeks. All the citizens of 
Corinth who were not massacred during the pillage 



384 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III, 



of the city, were sold with their wives and children ; 
the fortified cities of Achaia were dismantled ; popular 
assemblies were prohibited, and republican govern- 
ments abolished, throughout Greece ; Roman praetors 
were stationed in every principal city ; all the states 
were consolidated into one province, which paid an 
annual tribute to the republic of Rome, and long con- 
tinued to form a department of that flourishing em- 
pire, under the general name of Achaia. But though 
the victorious arms of that republic thus triumphed 
over the civil liberties of Greece, and annihilated her 
ancient governments, that subjugated country retained 
for ages its literary pre-eminence ; it was still the re- 
sort of men of taste and letters ; a Grecian education 
was considered necessary to form the Roman orator, 
poet, or artist ; the philosophers of Greece were held 
in the highest repute, and their writings sought with 
the utmost avidity ; nor did any of the literati of 
Rome esteem themselves thoroughly furnished till 
they had visited Greece, and paid enthusiastic homage 
to her stately ruins. 

Polyb. in legat. et excerpt. Pausan. in Achaie. Strabo. lib. 8. 
Liv. Hist. lib. 41—45. 



REFLECTIONS. 

There is something in extreme old age that never 
fails to impress the susceptible mind. A melancholy 
feeling is excited by contemplating the faded form, the 
furrowed visage, the languid limbs, the tottering step, 
and all the kindred infirmities of a person in advanced 
life ; because the scene is involuntarily contrasted in 
the mind with the early bloom and pristine vigour of 



ESSAY XIV. DESTRUCTION OF COUINTH, 381 

* that decrepit frame. We think, and cannot forbear 
to think, that the dim and ''lack-lustre eye" we now 
behold, once sparkled with animation and beamed 
with delight; that those members, which now tremble 
beneath their own weight, were once firmly knit toge- 
ther, and strong to labour ; and that the emaciated 
and bending form which now stoops to meet its pri- 
maeval dust, was once erect and fair, nerved with 
strength and arrayed in beauty. With similar emo- 
tions will the reflective mind contemplate the decre- 
pitude of Greece, of which her divided councils, her 
languid struggles, and her decayed governments were 
melancholy indications. While these symptoms of 
infirmity, these infallible tokens of approaching dis- 
solution are traced, it is impossible not to recur to 
the days of her youthful vigour, when a Miltiades, a 
Themistocles, an Aristides, or a Cimon, scattered the 
myriads of Persia, and gave laws to the world ; when 
every soldier was a general — every citizen a states- 
man — and every individual Grecian himself a host ; 
when incorruptible fidelity, invincible valour and dis- 
interested patriotism characterized both the people 
and their rulers. Nor should it be forgotten, that 
the decay of nations is to be ascribed to the same 
cause as that of the human body. Sin has not only 
" brought death into the world, and all our wo," but 
it has also occasioned the conflagration of cities, the 
dismemberment of states, the subversion of empires, 
and will, finally, occasion the wreck of universal nature. 

Whilst the literary virtuoso weeps over the ashes of 
Corinth, and thinks how many exquisite productions 
of Grecian art were buried there, the Christian be- 
holds them with more solemn feeling and deeper vene- 

2 c 



382 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III, 



ration. He discerns, amidst the ruins of this once- 
splendid city, the footsteps of the God of vengeance. 
He hears, amidst the mouldering columns of her tem- 
ples, and the decayed fragments of her palaces, the 
awful thunders of a violated Law, and of incensed 
Justice. He exclaims with holy fear and trembling, 
" Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right ? 
Righteous art thou, O Lord, and upright in thy judg- 
ments !" He remembers that this devoted city was, 
like the cities in the plain of Sodom, immersed in 
sensuality, and rendered infamous by its most flagrant 
vices — the sink of depravity, " where Satan's seat 
was " — and he no longer wonders that, like them, it 
should have been made a perpetual monument of 
vindictive wrath and divine vengeance. But when he 
turns from this impressive scene to observe the reali- 
ties of life, and the actual state of mankind — when he 
views the whole world lying in wickedness" — his 
w^onder is renewed and excited to the highest degree, 
that the thunderbolts of Jehovah have so long been 
stayed, and that the last dreadful conflagration has not 
long since taken place, *'in which the heavens shall 
pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall 
melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works 
that are therein shall be burned up." 



ESSAY XV. 

On the principal literary Characters, who flourished 
in Greece, after the Death of Socrates. 

The arts and sciences were successfully cultivated 
in many of the Grecian cities, but particularly in 



ESSAY XV. 



PLATO, XENOPHON, &C. 



383 



Athens, iong after the martial spirit of the Greeks had 
declined, and their governments had become corrupt. 
When scarcely a distinguished general , or an upright 
statesman could be found amongst them, every depart- 
ment of literature was thronged v/ith persons of dis- 
tinction, whose names, and many of whose v/ritings, 
have outlived the cities which gave them birth. 
Amongst these the Philosophers take the precedence, 
the most celebrated of whom were either the disciples 
of Socrates, or of the same philosophical sect. 

Plato ranks highest amongst the numerous pupils 
of the Athenian philosopher. He was descended from 
Codrus and Solon, names deservedly esteemed by the 
Athenians. His youth, like that of many who have dis- 
tinguished themselves in future life, was devoted to 
poetry. He wrote an epic poem, which, as soon as he 
became acquainted with Homer, he consigned to the 
flames ; and composed tragedies, which he afterwards 
suppressed. Socrates, to whom he became early at- 
tached, prevailed upon him to forsake these more 
flowery paths, for the rugged and intricate track of 
philosophical research. The death of his revered 
master induced him and his fellow-disciples to quit 
Athens. They concealed themselves for some time at 
Megara, in the house of Euclid, from whose residence 
Plato proceeded to visit Italy, Gyrene, and Egypt. 
After his return to Attica, he chose a sequestered spot 
near the capital, where he founded his celebrated aca- 
demy, to which the noblest of the Athenian youths daily 
resorted, for the benefit of his instructions. In this 
dignified and useful retirement he spent upwards of 
forty years, excepting that his literary ardour led him, 
on one occasion, to visit Mount ^tna, when he fell 



384 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



into the hands of Dionysius, the Sicilian tyrant, from 
whose grasp he narrowly escaped with his life. The 
writings of this philosopher, many of which have been 
preserved, were voluminous ; touching on almost every 
branch of science, both natural, moral, political and 
theological. They are for the most part composed 
in the form of dialogues, and a great part of his 
discourses and opinions are put into the mouth of 
Socrates. His compositions discover great depth of 
thought, and comprehensiveness of mind, though it is 
to be lamented, that the prodigious intellectual powers 
of this celebrated heathen were exhausted in abstract, 
minute, and metaphysical researches, instead of being 
applied to objects of practical utility. He died at 
Athens, in the eighty-first year of his age. His most 
distinguished scholars were Aristotle, Xenocrates, 
Aristonymus, Phormio, and Eudoxus. 

The amiable and philosophic Xenophon, no less 
deserves to be classed with the men of science, whom 
ancient Greece produced, than with her ablest gene- 
rals. He was a disciple of Socrates, and seems to 
have possessed more of the spirit of that philosopher, 
than any of his other pupils. During his absence in 
Persia, a decree of banishment was carried by his 
enemies against him, on the ground of his being too 
warmly attached to the Lacedaemonians. On this ac- 
count, when he laid aside his military pursuits, he 
retired to Scillus, a small Lacedaemonian settlement 
near Olympia, where he composed those volumes, 
which still continue to delight and instruct mankind. 
His principal writings were, the life of Cyrus the elder, 
the narrative of the memorable retreat of the Ten 
Thousand, an abstract of the doctrines and discourses 



ESSAY XV. 



PLATO, XENOPHON, &C. 



385 



of Socrates, and a comparative view of the Athenian 
and Lacedssmonian governments, besides several tracts 
on political economy, which evince the soundness of 
his judgment, and the versatility of his genius. When 
driven from his calm retreat, by the tumults of war, 
he removed to Corinth, where he is supposed to have 
ended his days. 

Euclid, (usually called of Megara, to distinguish 
him from the celebrated geometrician of that name, 
who flourished at a much later period,) was another 
of the pupils of Socrates, whose attachment to that 
philosopher was so strong, that he sought his instruc- 
tions at the hazard of his life. He was a native of 
Megara, a city to which the Athenians were so hostile, 
as to pass a decree that every Megarean who should 
be found in their territories should be put to death ; 
yet such was the invincible ardour of this student in 
philosophy, that he was wont to assume a female 
dress, enter Athens by night, spend a few hours in 
converse with Socrates, and retire before break of 
day. He afterwards founded a school at Megara, to 
which many resorted, from distant parts of Greece, 
and the presidency of which, after his death, devolved 
on his favourite pupil, Eubulides of Miletus. 

One other disciple of Socrates is mentioned, not so 
much on his own account, as that of his eccentric fol- 
lower. Antisthenes founded a school in Athens in 
opposition to that of Plato, which gave rise to a sect 
called the Cynics, (on account of the place where they 
assembled,) and was succeeded by that of the Stoics. 
The founder of this order inculcated the most rigid 
severity of life, condemned every species of lawful en- 
joyment, and affected the most extravagant self-denial, 



386 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



resembling that of the ascetics and mendicants of later 
ages. He is better known as the preceptor of Dio- 
genes, whom Plato fitly characterized as Socrates 
in a frenzy." This extraordinary character, (for he can 
scarcely be termed a philosopher,) attracted the at- 
tention of all Greece, by the wild eccentricity of his 
deportment, and the pride of his poverty. Alike in- 
different to the contempt or praise of man, he per- 
sisted in his frantic habits, exposing himself to the 
utmost hardships and privations, for the purpose of 
fortifying his body against the rigour of the seasons, 
or the caprices of fortune, and his mind against the 
allurements of pleasure. From his moveable tub, 
which contained his v/orldly all, he was accustomed to 
harangue the multitude in a strain of pointed satire 
and severe irony, which, while it put vice to the blush, 
no less offended the modest ear of virtue. His journey, 
at noon-day, with a lighted lantern, in search of an 
honest man, and his stern command to Alexander of 
Macedon, who asked what he could do to oblige him, 

to stand out of his sun-shine/' — are well-known 
traits of character, which convey a more accurate con- 
ception of Diogenes, than any laboured description of 
his manners, or statement of his opinions could afford. 

Aristotle, the founder of the Peripatetic sect, was 
born at Stagira in Macedonia ; his father was physician 
to Amyntas and Philip, the kings of that province, and 
highly esteemed by his royal patrons. After having 
finished his education at Athens, Aristotle resided at 
the court of Pella, caressed and honoured by the reign- 
ing monarch. In how great estimation he was held by 
Philip of Macedon, appears from his intrusting him 
with the entire education of his son Alexander. So long 



ESSAY XV. ARISTOTLE, EPICURUS, &C. 



387 



as his royal pupil lived, the preceptor was treated with 
the utmost distinction ; but no sooner had he fallen a 
victim to his unrestrained appetites, than Aristotle was 
compelled to flee from Athens into Euboea, where he 
died in obscurity. His remaining works embrace almost 
the whole circle of the sciences. His literary ambition 
was as insatiable as the military ardour of his pupil ; 
nor could he rest without extending his researches to 
the remotest verge of intellectual knowledge. He ex- 
plored the most uncultivated regions of natural and 
moral science, which had never before been trodden; 
and annexed them to the vast empire of his capacious 
mind. During many ages of darkness, did this intel- 
lectual despot maintain an undisputed sovereignty over 
the opinions of mankind, nor has he ceased to reign even 
now, over many, who are enchanted with his metaphy. 
sical subtleties, or fettered by his critical canons. 

The philosophy of Epicurus was more congenial to 
the taste of the Athenians, who were devoted to plea- 
sure, and eagerly embraced a system which represented 
this as the chief good. The celebrated gardens of Epi- 
curus were resorted to by the wealthy and the gay, the 
voluptuous and immoral ; though the philosopher him- 
self is said to have been temperate in his habits, and 
decidedly hostile to the luxurious manners of his age 
and country. His character united the firm and manly, 
with the more amiable and tender, qualities. His dis- 
ciples were affectionately attached to him, and long 
continued to revere his memory. 

Another sect of philosophers which sprang up in 
Greece must not be wholly omitted. The Pyrrhonists 
received their name from Pyrrho, who was an univer- 
sal sceptic, and taught that truth consisted in believing 



388 HISTORY OF GREECE. BOOK III. 



nothing, and virtue in omitting to perform every re- 
lative and social duty. The votaries of Pyrrhonism were 
never numerous, and the sect soon became extinct. 

The latter period of Grecian history affords no in- 
stance of pre-eminent poetical genius. The epic, lyric, 
and tragic muses seem to have taken their flight, to re- 
visit no more their once-favoured haunts, and that of 
comedy alone remained. Philemon, Antiphanes, Ly- 
con, and especially Menander, greatly excelled in this 
kind of composition. But their strains were licentious 
and impure, nor can we regret that the unhallowed fire of 
their genius has long since been extinguished. Several 
minor poets flourished in the reign of Ptolemy Phila- 
delphus, the principal of whom were Theocritus of 
Syracuse, Lycophron of Calchis, in Euboea, and Calli- 
machus of Gyrene. 

But though poetry degenerated into humble verse, 
and the race of poets had so completely failed, as to be 
unable to furnish one, who was qualified to celebrate, 
in epic or lyric strains, the victories of Alexander; yet, 
during the same period, the kindred arts of Sculpture 
and Painting were cultivated with great success. The 
munificent patronage of the princes of Macedon could 
not, indeed, create genius, but it led to the improve- 
ment of science, and refinement of taste. The magic 
chisels of Praxiteles and Lysippus, and the bewitching 
pencils of Protogenes, Apollodorus, and above all, 
Apelles, carried their respective arts to the highest de- 
gree of excellence. The latter of these distinguished 
artists, produced a great number of exquisite paintings, 
amongst which, his picture of Alexander grasping a 
thunderbolt, placed in the temple of Diana, at Ephe- 
sus, v/as most admired by his contemporaries. 



ESSAY XV. 



ARISTOTLE, EPICURUS, &C. 



389 



About the same time, the rhetorical art attained its 
meridian splendour. The school of oratory and compo- 
sition, instituted at Athens, by Isocrates, contributed 
greatly to its perfection, in which most of the distin- 
guished orators of Greece received their education. — 
The Panegyrics " of that celebrated rhetorician, 
abound v^^ith beauties of composition ; yet, it must be 
confessed, they are far inferior to the chaste and ner- 
vous orations of Demosthenes, iEschines, and Lycur- 
gus, all of whom flourished at the same time in Athens. 
With them expired genuine Grecian eloquence, which 
was succeeded by the turgid pomp of words and me- 
retricious graces of style imported, amongst other 
eastern luxuries, from the conquered provinces of Asia. 

Collected from the works of Diogenes Laertius, Suidas, Pliny, 
Cicero, Sfc. 



REFLECTIONS. 

In reviewing the history of Grecian philosophy, the 
mind is forcibly impressed with the number and dis- 
sonance of the classes into which it was divided. — 
Though all the leaders of these intellectual bands pro- 
fessed to be sincere and diligent in their inquiries after 
truth, to what various and even opposite conclusions 
were they led. Some taught that virtue consisted in a 
voluntary submission to pain and suffering, whilst 
others made it consist in the perpetual enjoyment of 
pleasure. Some exhibited the grossest credulity, and 
others, the most confirmed atheism. Yet not even the 
most extravagant of these teachers of false philosophy, 
were without their devotees and advocates — ^the wild- 
est of those systems were eagerly embraced by multi- 



390 



HISTORY OF GREECE. 



BOOK III. 



tudes, who were in perpetual search after some new 
thing. But, in reviewing the history of the Christian 
religion, the mind is yet more forcibly impressed with 
the varying and even opposite opinions of those 
who profess to acknowledge one Master, and bow to 
the authority of one inspired standard. That the dis- 
ciples of Plato should differ widely from those of Epi- 
curus, and the Pyrrhonists from both, excites no sur- 
prise, because they had no common rule of faith and 
doctrine. But that Christians, who continually make 
their appeal to an infallible Judge, and all agree to 
acknowledge his high authority, should be thus divided 
into innumerable sects, maintaining contradictory opi- 
nions and discipline, is, indeed, a melancholy proof 
both of the imperfection of human knowledge, and 
the perversion of the human heart. 

At a very early period, in the history of the Church 
of Christ, its primitive members imitated the practice 
of the heathen world, and attached themselves to dif- 
ferent leaders, regardless of His injunctions, who had 
said, Call no man master upon earth, for one is your 
master, even Christ." The Greek churches were parti- 
cularly chargeable with this act of rebellion against the 
supremacy of Jesus Christ ; for they are accused by the 
Apostle Paul of contentions and divisions, while one 
said, " I am of Paul, another, I am of Apollos, and a 
third, I am of Cephas," or Peter. On this account, he 
pronounces them carnal, and accuses them of walking 
as men, or as the devotees of heathen philosophy. Yet, 
in defiance of the Christian canon, which has just been 
cited, and the apostolical reproof alluded to, a similar 
spirit of party has prevailed, in every age, amongst 
Christians. Banners have been displayed, inscribed 



ESSAY XV. 



ARISTOTLE, EPICURUS, &C. 



391 



with the names of human leaders, which have proved 
the signals of fierce contention, and standards of sec- 
tarian bigotry. Let Platonists, Stoics, Epicureans, 
and Cynics, strive with each other — let the respective 
partisans of the Academy, the Portico, and the Ly- 
ceum, maintain a ceaseless conflict — but let not the 
common disciples of the Prince of Peace dishonour their 
high vocation, by mutual jealousies, and endless dis- 
cords ! Let them endeavour to keep the unity of the 
Spirit, in the bond of peace." 

All the facts contained in the preceding series should 
conspire to lead us to one important result, which, if 
attained, will prove that history has not been studied 
in vain. They should impress our minds with senti- 
ments of unfeigned reverence for the Most High God, 
who is " wonderful in counsel, and excellent in work- 
ing," and whose over-ruling hand is no less distinctly 
to be traced in the apparent contingencies of human 
life, than in the rise and fall of empires, or the crea- 
tion and destruction of worlds. 



THE END. 



HISTORICAL QUESTIONS, 

INTENDED AS 

EXERCISES FOR YOUTH. 



BOOK I. 

ESSAY 

1. What are the principal aeras of Grecian History ? 

What were the names, character, residence, and occupations of 
the native tribes ? 

Who were the earliest colonists, and where did they form settle- 
ments ? 

What was the origin and character of the Grecian Mythology > 

Wiiat form of government first prevailed in Greece ? 

When, and by whom, were the kingdoms of Greece founded ? 

Which were the lesser states of Greece ? 

Who were the lonians, and where did they reside ? 

What moral instruction does the origin of Greece convey ? 

2. What causes produced the early civilization of Crete ? 
Who was Minos, and when did he flourish ? 

By whom was he assisted in the task of legislation ? 

What was the fundamental principle of his laws ? 

What were his most remarkable institutions ? 

What was the immediate influence of the laws of Minos ? 

What was the subsequent character of the Cretans ? 

What reflections do the character and laws of Minos suggest ? 

3. When did the Argonautic expedition take place ? 
What renders it interesting to posterity? 

Who were its most celebrated leaders ? 
What were its objects, place of destination, and success ? 
What were its immediate and remoter consequences ? 
What have been the principal uses and abuses of the art of 
navigation ? 

4. When, and by whom, was the siege of Troy undertaken ? 
What circumstances gave rise to the Trojan War? 
What causes retarded the capture of Troy ? 

What was the issue of the contest, both to the Greeks and 
Trojans? 

What moral lesson does the Trojan war teach ? 
What dangers are to be apprehended from the poems which 
contain its history ? 

5. Who was Theseus, and for what is he celebrated ? 
What caused the abolition of royalty in Athens ? 
At what period did that event take place ? 

What form of government was substituted ? 



394 HISTORICAL QUESTIONS. 

BSSAY 

What were the titles and offices of the Ten Archons ? 
What instruction does the death of Codrus suggest ? 

6. Who was LycurgTis and when did he flourish ? 
How did he spend his youth ? 

What was the state of 'Sparta previously to his legislation ? 

What were his principal laws and regulations ? 

How were they received, and what was their general tendency ? 

How long did they continue in force ? 

What were the most interesting traits in his character ? 

What were the chief moral defects of his institutions ? 

7. Wlien, and in whose reign, did the first jMessenian war take 

place ? 

Who were the ephori, and what their numher and office ? 
Who were the instigators of the second Messenian war ? 
AVTiat was the final issue of the contest ? 
What remarks are suggested by the Messenian wars ? 

8. Who was Draco, and when did he flourish ? 

What was the state of Athens before his archonship ? 

'\'niat was the peculiar character of his laws ? 

What were the memorable tiayings of Aristotle and Demades 

respecting him ? 
What were the circumstances and place of his death ? 
What do the character, laws, and death, of Draco teach ? 

9. Who was Solon, and when did he flourish ? 
What were the names of the seven Grecian sages ? 
What were the principal institutions of Solon ? 

What was the constitution and office of the Court of Areo- 
pagus ? 

Into what factions was Athens divided in Solon's time ? 
What moral instructions do the life and labours of Solon 
convey ? 

10. When and where did Croesus reign ? 

What was the subject of liis conversation with Solon ? 
By whom was he dethroned ? 

What was the occasion of his preservation from death ? 

What encouraged him to encounter Cyrus ? 

What is the scriptural representation of "the happy man ?" 

11. Who acquired the sovereignty of Athens in Solon's absence ? 
What was the general character of Pisistratus ? 

By whom was he succeeded, and what was the character of his 

successors ? 
Who were Harmodius and Ai-istogiton ? 
What was the statj of Athens after the expulsion of Hippias ? 
What reflections does the Athenian revolution suggest ? 

12. Who were the earliest philosophers of Greece ? 

Where was Thales born, when did he flourish, and what sect 

did he found ? 
What were his distinguishing tenets ? 

Who were his most eminent disciples, and wherein did they 

difi'er from him ? 
Where was Pythagoras bom, when did he flourish, and what 

sect did he found ? 



HISTORICAL aUESTIONS. 



3^5 



ESSAY 

What rules were observed by the Pythag-oreans ? 
What estimate does Christianity enable us to form of Grecian 
philosophy ? 

13. How early was poetry known in Greece, and to what uses was 

it applied ? 
Who were the earliest Greek poets ? 

Wliat are the titles, character, and tendency, of Homer's poems ? 
"^Vliere and when was Hesiod born, and what are the poems 

ascribed to him ? 
Who invented the Iambic, Sapphic, and Alcaic measures ? 
What other poets flourished during- the fabulous ag-es ? 
What is the general tendency of the most admired poems of 

antiquity ? 

What benefits have been derived from them ? 

14. WTiat institutions arose in Greece during" the fabulous ag-es ? 
Which was the most ancient of the Grecian oracles ? 

Which became the most celebrated, and where was it situated ? 

What was the political and moral influence of oracles ? 

What reflections does the reg-ard paid to heathen oracles sug-g-est ? 

15. What was the Amphictyonic Council, and by whom founded ? 
What useful remarks arise from the constitution and influence of 

this council ? 

What were the times, place, objects, and influence of their 
meeting ? 

How long- did they continue to hold their assemblies ? 

^VTiat were the number and names of the Amphictyonic states ? 

16. What were the public games celebrated in Greece ? 

WTiat corporeal and mental exercises were practised in them ? 
What was the reward of the victors ? 
What general purposes did these festivities answer ? 
When were the Olympiads first used for the computation of 
time ? 

To what moral and religious uses may the Grecian games be 
applied ? 

BOOK II. 

1. What was the primary and remoter cause of the Persian war ? 
What was the secondary cause of that event ? 

When and at whose instigation did the Ionian colonies revolt ? 
"WTiat was the more immediate cause of the Persian war ? 
In what do wars usually originate ? 
What species of warfare is laudable ? 

2. Who commanded the first Persian expedition against Greece, 

and with what success ? 
By whom was the second conducted, and what were their 
instructions ? 

What was the comparative strength of the Persian and Grecian 
armies ? 

Who were the principal Grecian commanders ? 



396 HISTOKICAL QUESTIONS. 

ESSAY 

Where did the first gfeneral engag-ement take place, and what 
was its issue ? 

What moral instruction does the battle of Marathon convey ? 

3. What was the next enterprise of the Athenians ? 

By whom was that enterprise conducted, and with what success ? 
Whiit were the circumstances attending- the death of Miltiades ? 
Who was the son of Miltiades, and what was his first memo- 
rable act ? 

What was the general character of the Athenians ? 
What reflections does the death of Miltiades sugg'est ? 

4. What were the first public measures of Themistocles ? 
Who succeeded Darius in the g-overnment of Persia ? 

What preparations were made by Xerxes for the invasion of 
Greece ? 

WTiat circumstances attended the march erf the Persian army ? 
What preparations were made by the Greeks ? 
What was the g-eneral character of Xerxes, and with whom 
may it be contrasted ? 
6. What was the situation of Thermopylae ? 
Who defended that celebrated defile ? 
By whom, and in what manner, were the Greeks betrayed ? 
What circumstances attended the death of Leonidas ? 
What may be learnt from the death of Leonidas ? 

6. What were the immediate consequences of the battle of Ther- 

mopylae ? 

What measure was resorted to by the Athenians ? 
What induced the Athenians to adopt that measure ? 
What was the fate of Athens, and in what year before Christ ? 
To what g-eneral remarks do the emig-ration of the Athenians, 
and conflag-ration of their city lead ? 

7. Where, and by whom, was the Persian fleet destroyed ? 
In what manner did Xerxes quit Greece ? 

Who commanded the Persians and Greeks at the battles of 

Plataea and JMycale ? 
What were the consequences of those victories ? 
What moral lessons does the overthrow of Xerxes and his army 

teach ? 

8. What was the conduct of Pausanias after the battle of Plataea ? 
By whom, and in what manner, was liis treason discovered ? 
What Avas the Scytale ? 

What were the circumstances of his death ? 
What was the instruction conveyed by that event ? 

9. What were the principal excellencies and faults of Themis- 

tocles ? 

What was the conduct of the Athenians toivards him ? 
"Wliat were the places and circumstances of his exile ? 
What were the time and manner of liis death ? 
In what lig-ht should Christians contemplate the cliaracter and 
life of Themistocles ? 
10. What was the general character of Aristides ? 
By what title was he distinguished ? 



HISTORICAL QUESTIONS. 



401 



To what offices of trust was lie elected by the Greeks ? 
How was he treated by the Athenians ? 
What was the Ostracism ? 
How was the old age of Aristides employed ? 
"What moral impression should be made by the contemplation of 
his character ? 

11. Who was Cimon of Athens, and what his youthfid character ? 
What memorable victory terminated the Persian war ? 
What were the articles of peace ? 

^VTiat was the private character of Cimon ? 
What reflections do his life and conduct sug-gest ? 

12. What were the circumstances leading to the Peloponnesian 

war ? 

By whom was the flame of civil war enkindled ? 
When did the Peloponnesian war begin ? 
Who M'ere the confederate powers on either side ? 
^VTiat is the most hateful species of war ? 

13. Who was Pericles, and by whom educated ? 

How did he acquire influence and vanquish his rivals ? 
WhRt calamities followed the declaration of war ? 
What occasioned the death of Pericles ? 
How long did Pericles preside over the Athenian republic ? 
yVhat was the apparent and what the real state of Athens during 
the administration of Pericles ? 

14. What were the circmnstances attending the progress of the 

war ? 

Who were the two leading men at Athens after the death of 

Pericles, and what their characters ? 
^Vliat Spartan general flourished at that time ? 
By whom was the temporary peace negotiated between the 

Athenians and Spartans, and in what year? 
To what characters may the obdurate conduct of the Athenians 

be compared ? 

15. What led to the renewal of the war ? 

^Vliat expedition was undertaken by the Athenians ? 
By whom was it commanded, and with what success ? 
What pleasing circumstance occurred in connexion with the 

disasters in Sicily ? 
"Wliat terminated the Argive confederacy ? 
TVliat do the calamities of the Athenians in Sicily teach ? 

16. Who was Alcibiades, and Avhat his youthful character ? 
By whom was he educated ? 

What occasioned his exile, and where did he reside during that 
period ? 

What were the manner aad consequences of his recall ? 
What were the circumstances of his death ? 
^VTiat judgment are we to form respecting him ? 

17. AVhat was t!ie tjrranny of the Four Hundred ? 
What was the character of Lysander ? 

Wliat the character and death of CalHcratidas ? 
How were the victorious commanders of the Athenian fleet 
treated by their fellow-citizens ? 

2 D 



402 



HISTORICAL QUESTIONS. 



What event terminated the Peloponnesian war ? 

What was the influence of Lysander's victories upon Sparta ? 

18. What was the middle period of Grecian philosophy ? 

"Who were the most celebrated philosophers of the Ionian 
school ? 

Who of the Italic, or Pythagorean, sect ? 

Who of the Elean school, and by whom was that sect founded ? 

What was the influence of Grecian philosophy ? 

Who were the principal poets of the middle period ? 

Who patronised Simonides, and in what kind of poetry did he 

19. excel ? 

What memorable anecdotes are told of him, and to what vice 
was he prone ? 

What is the character of Pindar as a poet, and who was his 
rival ? 

Who were the most celebrated Greek tragedians ? 
What was the character of the Greek comedians ? 
What moral impression is made by the perusal of their pro- 
ductions ? 

20. What branches of literature were most cultivated in Greece ? 
In what provinces did they flourish in the greatest degree ? 
Wlio were the most admired historians of that period ? 
Who were the most celebrated Athenian orators of that age ? 
Who were the most distinguished Grecian artists ? 

What were the tendency and influence of Grecian literature ? 



BOOK III. 

1. What form of government did Lysander establish in Athens ? 
What was the character of that government ? 

By whom were the thirty tyi-ants expelled ? 
Who succeeded them in the government of Athens ? 
What moral instruction does the conduct of Thrasybulus 
afford ? 

2. What was the character of Cyrus the younger ? 
What were the circumstances of his death ? 

Who was Tissaphernes, and what his conduct to the Greeks ? 
By whom was the retreat of the Ten Thousand conducted ? 
Through what provinces did they pass ? 
How long was their march, and what their ultimate loss ? 
What moral lesson does the retreat of the Ten Thousand teach ? 

3. Who was Socrates, and what his general character ? 
What were his mode of instruction and manner of life ? 
What excited the hatred of the Athenians against him ? 
Of what crimes was he accused ? 

What were the principal circumstances of his death ? 
What judgment are we to form of that event ? 



HISTORICAL QUESTIONS. 



403 



ESSAY. 



4. Who was Agesilaus and what the scene of his conquests ? 
What was the character and public conduct of Conon ? 
What occasioned the revolt of the Spartan colonies ? 

By whom was the battle of Coronea fought, and with what 
success ? 

What were the chief articles of the peace of Antalcidas ? 

5. AVTiat was the general character of the Boeotians and Thebans ? 
Who were the two celebrated Theban patriots ? 

What was the issue of the battle of Leuctra ? 
What was the subsequent conduct of the Spartans ? 
What reflections are suggested by the liberation of Thebes and 
the battle of Leuctra ? 

6. What line of policy did the Athenians pursue towards the vic- 



How were the Theban generals received on their return ? 
What was the character of Alexander of Pherse ? 
What were the circumstances attending the death of Pelopidas ? 
What was the general character of Epaminondas, and what 

the manner of his death ? 
When did these events take place, and to what reflections do 

they lead ? 

7. By whom was the kingdom of Macedon revived ? 
What was his conduct toward the Greeks ? 

By whom were his ambitious designs opposed ? 

What was the result of his public measures ? 

To what was he principally indebted for success ? 

What was the manner of his death, and when did it take place ? 

For what quality was he most remarkable ? 

8. Who was Demosthenes, and what were his early studies ? 
When and where did he flourish ? 

What was his public character ? 

What occasioned the banishment of ^^schines ? 

What circumstances attended the death of Demosthenes ? 

What are the eff'ects of Christian oratory ? 

9. What was the early character of Alexander ? 
What was his first military enterprise ? 

What were the three victories of Alexander over Darius, which 

proved fatal to the Persian empire ? 
What became of Darius and his family ? 
What political causes accelerated the fall of Persia ? 
What moral causes operated to that end ? 
What is the religious aspect of that event ? 

10. What memorable acts of injustice are recorded of Alexander ? 
Wliere did his conquests terminate ? 

What was the later character of Alexander ? 

When and in what manner did he die ? 

What estimate are we to form of Alexander's greatness ? 

1 1. What was the character and death of Phocion ? 

Who were the several governors of Athens after his death? 
What was the character of Demetrius Phalereus ? 
What were his pursuits after his exile ? 

What distinguished the reign of Demetrius, son of Antigonus ? 




404 



HISTORICAL dUESTIOlJS. 



ESSAY 

Who was Pyrrhus, where and how did he die ? 
What reflections are suggested by the deaths of Phocion and 
Pyrrhus ? 

12. Who were the two Spartan reformers, and when did they 

flourish ? 

What measure of reform did they propose ? 
How were those measures received ? 

What circumstances attended and followed the death of Agis ? 

What was the success of Cleomenes ? 

What is the most necessary species of reform ? 

13. What was the Achaean League ? 

What cities belonged to that confederacy ? 
Who were its most celebrated generals ? 
^VTiat were the cause and circumstances of the death of Aratus ? 
What proclamation was made by the Romans at the Isthmian 
games ? 

What impression did it make upon the Greeks ? 

14. What occasioned the dissolution of the Achaean League ? 
By whom and when was Corinth destroyed ? 

What were the immediate consequences of that event ? 
What moral and religious reflections does it suggest ? 

15. Who were the most celebrated disciples of Socrates ? 

Who founded the sects of the Cynics, Stoics, Peripatetics, and 
Pyrrhonists ? 

What was the literary and philosophical character of Aristotle ? 
What poets flourished in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus ? 
Wlio were the latter Grecian artists and orators ? 
To what grand result should the study of history lead ? 



INDEX. 



ABORIGINES of Greece, 3. 
Achsean league, 370—376. 
Achseans, their wars, 367, 370— 
376. 

Achaia, province of, 7, 26, 367, 

379—384. 
Achilles, Grecian chief, 19, 27, 
Admetus, kingof Molossus, 167. 
Mgean sea, islands of, 121, 122. 
^geus, father of Theseus, 32. 
-^gialeus, founds Sicyon, 5. 
-^gina, island of, 53. 
iEinilius Paulus, Roman general, 

38a. 

^neas, Trojan chief, 28. 
iEschines, Athenian orator, 315, 

316, 324. 
-^sculapius, physician, 20, 279. 
^schylus, dramatic poet, 243. 
-ffitna, Mount, visited by Plato, 

387. 

^tolia, .^tolians, 7, 372, 380, 
381. 

Agamemnon, generalissimo of 

the Greeks, 26. 
Agesilaus, king of Sparta, 284, 

289, 301, 361. 
Agiatis, wife of Agis, the Spartan 

reformer, 365. 
Agis, king of Lacedaemon, 211, 

218, 284. 
, Spartan patriot and re- 
former, 360, 367. 
Ajax, Grecian chief, 19. 
Alcander wounds Lycurgus, 42. 
Alcamenes, Spartan king, 46. 
Alcseus of Mitylene, poet, 84. 
Alcibiades, Athenian chief, 208, 

214—219. 
Alexander, tyrant of Pherse, 302. 
Alexander, king of Macedon, 

329—337, 340—347. 
, his tsuccesiiors, 331 — 

357. 



Alexandrian library collected, 

355, 359. 
Alphabet introduced into Greece, 

6. 

Amphictyons, council of, 5, 88 — 
92, 94— 97, 132, 313, 316. 

Anacreon, poet of Samos, 69, 85. 

Anaxagoras of Claromense, phi- 
losopher, 191, 232. 

Anaximander and Anximenes, 
philosophers, 75. 

Antalcidas, peace of, 288. 

Antigonus, Macedonian general, 
354, 367. 

Antisthenes, Athenian philoso- 
pher, 389. 

Antipater, Macedonian chief, 325 
332, 352. 

ApelleSjCelebrated Grecian artist, 
392. 

Apollo, Grecian deity, 40. 
Apollodorus, artist, 254, 392. 
Aratus, Achsean general, 363^ 

S71— 374. 
Arbela, battle of, 336. 
Arcadia, province of, 7, 300. 
Archias, tyrant of Thebes, 294. 
Archelaus, philosopher, 232. 

, king of Macedon, 245. 

Archidamus, brother of Agis, 365. 
Archilochus, poet, 84. 
Archons, Athenian magistrates, 

35, 51. 
Areopagus, court of, 5, 58. 
Argo, Argonauts, 17, 19 — 22. 
Argos, province of, 3, 5. 
Argive alliance, 207, 211. 
Aristagoras of Miletus, 109. 
Aristides, Athenian chief, 116, 

117, 153, 158, 170—175. 
Aristodemus, Messenian chief, 47. 

, Spartan chief, 6. 

Aristomenes, Spartan chief, 47, 

48. . 



406 



INDEX. 



Aristogiton, Athenian patriot, 70. 
Aristophanes, comic poet, 243, 
275. 

Aristotle, philosopher, 329, 388, 

390, 391. 
Artabazus, Persian satrap, 158. 
Artaphernes, Persian satrap, 

110, 114. 
Artemisia, queen of Halicarnas- 

sus, 151. 
Artemisium, naval engagement 

at, 132, 145. 
Artaxerxes, king of Persia, 265, 

284. 

Asia Minor, Grecian colonies of, 

7, 11, 40, 109, 312. 
Athos, Mount, promontory of, 

131. 

Attica, Athens, 3,5, 32, 67—71, 

109, 132, 144—147, 193, 207, 

222—228. 
Babylon, city of, 336, 341, 347. 
Bactria, province of, 341. 
Belus, temple of, 347. 
Bceotia, (originally Thebes,) 6, 

90, 208, 293. 
Brasidas, Spartan general, 203, 

204, 252. 
Byzantium, city of, 157, 158. 

Cadmus, Greek colonist, 3, 6. 
Callicratidas, Spartan general, 
225. 

Callimachus, poet, 392. 
Callisthenes, philosopher, 343. 
Caridemus, Athenian patriot, 
334. 

Carthage, city of, 28, 374, 383. 
Cassander governs Athens, 354. 
Cecrops, Grecian colonist, 3, 5. 
Ceranus, founder of Macedon, 7. 
Chseromaea, battle of, 315, 324, 
330. 

Cimon, Athenian chief, 123, 158. 

175, 17S— 172. 
Clearchus, Grecian general, 265. 
Cleomenes, Spartan reformer, 

360—367. 
Cleombrotus, Spartan general, 

296. 

— , Spartan general, 

362. 



Cleon, Athenian demagogue, 

202—204. 
Cleopatra, daughter of Philip of 

Macedon, 316. 
Clitus, killed by Alexander, 34i2, 

343. 

Cuidos, naval engagement at, 
287. 

Codrus, king of Athens, 32 — 35, 
37. 

Colchis taken by the Argonauts, 
20, 21. 

Corcyra, colony of, revolts, 187, 
201. 

Conon, Athenian general, 284 — 
289. 

Corinna, poetess, 243. 
Corinth, city of, 6, 207, 379— 
384. 

Coronsea, battle of, 287. 
Council of Four Hundred, 218, 
223. 

Crete, kingdom of, 11—15, 39. 
Critias, tyrant of Athens, 258, 
259. 

Crito, philosopher and pupil of 

Socrates, 277. 
Crcesus, king of Lydia, 62 — 65. 
Ctesias, physician, 286. 
Cunaxa, battle of, 265, 266. 
Cyprus, island of, 157, 179, 181, 

"286. 

Cypselus, king of Corinth, 6. 
Cyrus, viceroy of Sardis, 225. 

, king of Persia, 64, 

107. 

, the younger, 265. 

Cynics, sect of, 389. 

Danaus, Grecian colonist, 3. 
Dardanus, first Trojan king, 25. 
Darius, king of Persia, 108, 113, 

114, 128, 129. 
Nothus, king of Persia, 

265. 

• Codomanus, 334—337. 

Delphic oracle, 33, 40, 3, 65, 

89, 95, 145, 275, 311, ^c. 
Demades, Athenian orator, 52, 

315, 331. 
Demaratus, exiled Spartan king, 

130, 137. 



INDEX. 



407 



Demetrius Phalereus, g-overns 

Athens, 354. 
Poliorcetes, son of 

Antigonus, 354. 
Democritus, philosopher, 234. 
Demosthenes, Athenian general 

and orator, 203, 310, 315, 

319—326. 
Deucalion, the Argonaut, 3, 12. 
Diana, temple of, 46, 153, 250. 

392. 

Diarchy, established in Sparta, 6. 
Diogenes, philosopher, 390. 
Diomedes, Grecian chief, 19, 27. 
Dionysius, tyrant of Sicily, 38S. 
Dodona, oracle of, dedicated to 

Jupiter, 89. 
Doris, Dorians, 7, 33. 
Draco, legislator, 51 — 53. 

Ecbatana, city of, 346. 
Education, state of, in Crete, 13 

— ^in Sparta, 41. 
Egypt, kingdom of, 3, 74, 249, 

337, 367, 372. 
Elean sect of philosophers, 234 — 

236. 

Eleusis, mysteries of, 217— city 

of, 259. 
Elis, Ehans, 7, 373, 375. 
Empedocles, philosopher, 233. 
Epaminondas, Theban general, 

292, 300—306. 
Ephesus, city of, 153, 251, 392. 
Ephori, council of, 46, 360, 366. 
Epialtes betrays Greece to 

Xerxes, 138, 140. 
Epicurus, philosopher, 391. 
Epirus, kingdom of, 3, 356. 
Euboeans, Eubcea, 300, 314, 315. 
Euclid, of Megara, philosopher, 

279, 389. 
Eudamidas, father of Agis, 360. 
Euribiades, Spartan general, 132, 

150. 

Euripides, dramatic poet, 102, 

210, 243, 245. 
Eurymedon, battle of, 179. 
Eurysthenes, king of Sparta, 6. 
Evagoras, king of Cyprus, 286. 

Four Hundred, tyranny of the, 
218, 223. 



Flaminius Quintius, Roman pro- 
consul, 375, 380. 

Games, public, 88, 92, 100—104. 

Gnomonic philosophers, 74. 

Gods and Goddesses worshipped 
in Greece, 30. 

Granicus, battle of the, 333. 

Greece, origin of its states, 1 — 
7 — invaded by the Persians, 
113—118, 128, 132— by the 
Macedonians, 330, 331— by 
the Romans, 374, 381—384. 

Gylyppus, Lacedaemonian gene- 
ral, 209, 210. 

Halicarnassus, city of, 250, 333. 
Harmodius, Athenian patriot, 
70. 

Hector, Trojan chief, 27. 

Hellen, son of Deucalion, 3. 

Hellenes, native Grecian tribes, 3. 

Helen, vrife of Menelaus, 26. 

Hellespont, 131, 269. 

Hephaestion, death of, 345. 

Heraclidse, descendants of Her- 
cules, 33. 

Hercules, Grecian chief, 6, 19, 
32, 33, 343. 

pillars of, 346. 

Herodotus, historian, 102, 250. 

Hesiod, ancient Greek poet, 4, 
83. 

Hieroglyphical mode of instruc- 
tion, 77. 

Hipparchus, son of Pisistratus, 
69, 70. 

Hippias, son of Pisistratus, ty- 
rant of Athens, 69, 70, 109. 

Hippocrates, of Cos, physician, 
194. 

Histseus, king of Miletus, 109. 
Historians, Grecian, 81, 250 — 

252, 255. 
Homer, father of Grecian poetry, 

82, 83. 

Iambic verse, inventor of, 84. 
Idomeneus, Grecian chief, 12, 19. 
Iliad and Odyssey of Homer, 82, 
83, 

Illyria, Illyrians, 312. 
Inachus founds Argos, J5. 



408 



INDEX. 



India invaded by Alexander, 341, 
344—347. 

lonia^ lonians, 7, 96, 108> 249. 
Ionic sect of philosophers, 74, 
232. 

Isocrates, orator, 393. 
Issus, battle of, 334. 
Isthmian g-ames, 68, 101, 375. 
Italic or Pythagorean sect of 

philosophers, 77, 233, 234. 
Italy, arrival of ^neas there, 

28. 

Jason, leader of the Argonauts, 
20, 21. 

prince of Thessaly, 300. 

Judsea invaded by Alexander of 
Macedon, 336. 

Jupiter Ammon, temple and ora- 
cle of, 89, 336. 

Lacedsemon, (see Sparta and Pe- 
loponnesus.) 

Laconia, country of, 41, .301, 356. 

Laconic style, origin of, 41. 

Laurium, Mount, silver mines 
of, 128. 

Lelex, first Spartan king, 6. 

Lemnos, victory of, obtained by 
Miltiades, 123. 

Leonidas, Spartan general, 132, 
136—141. 

king of Lacedaemon, 

360, 363. 

Leosthenes, Grecian general, 
352. 

Leolychides, of Sparta, 153. 
Lesbos, Lesbians, 84, 201. 
Leucippus, philosopher, 236. 
Leuctra, battle of, 296, 297. 
Linus, ancient Greek poet, 81. 
Literature, state of, 249 — 255, 

384, 386—393. 
Locris, Locrians, state of, 7. 
Lybian oracle, 343. 
Lycophron, of Calchis, poet, 392. 
Lycurgus, Spartan legislator, 1 5, 

38—43. 

laws of, 38 — 43, 360, 

36G, 375, 




of Athens, 59, 68. 
orator, 393. 



Lydia, liydians, 59, 62—65, 110, 
285. 

Lysander, Spartan general, 222 

—227, 258, 260. 

Spartan patriot, 361. 

Lvsias, Athenian orator, 276, 

'281. 

Lysippus, sculptor, 392. 

Macedonia, 3, 6, 203, 329, 340 

—347. 
Mantinae, battle of, 305. 
Marathon, battle of, 22, 113— 

lis, 164. 
Mardonius, Persian general, 113, 

152. 

Megacles, Athenian cliief, 59, 68. 
Memnon, of Rhodes, 333. 
Menander, dramatic poet, 392. 
Menelaus, king of Sparta, 26. 
Mercury, feast of, at Crete, 14. 
Messenians, Messenia, 45 — 48, 

375, 376. 
IMetellus, Roman general, 382. 
Miltiades, Athenian general, 116, 

121—124. 
Minerva, temple of, 145, 159. 
Minos, Cretan legislator, 11 — 

15. 

Mummius, Roman consul, takes 

Corinth, 382. 
Mycale, battle of, 153. 
Mycenae, kingdom of, 5, 26. 
INIythology of the Greeks, 4. 

Nabis, tyrant of Sparta, 374. 
Naupactus, treaty of, 373. 
Nemean games, 101. 
Nestor, Grecian chief, 27. 
Nicias, Athenian general, 202, 
204, 208, 209. 

Olympia, oracle of, dedicated to 

Jupiter, 89. 
pubUc games at, 68, 

89, 101, 234, 244. 
Olympiads, divisions of time into, 

103. 

Oracles, Grecian, their origin, 

names, S,-c. 88—92. 
Oratory, state of, in Greece, 252, 

392, 393. 



m 



INDEX. 



409 



Orpheus, ancient poet, 20. 
Ostracism, Atheniap mode of 

exile, 173, 180, 192. 
Painting", art of, 254, 392. 
Panoenus, artist, 254. 
Parmenio, Macedonian general, 

334, 342. 
Parmenides, philosopher, 234. 
Paros besieged by Miltiades, 122. 
Parrhasius, artist, 254. 
Paulus, \aEmilius, Roman ge* 

neral, 380. 
Pausanias, Spartan general, 153, 

156—160, 240, 260. 
Pelasgi, native Grecian tribes, 3. 
Pelopidas, Theban general, 292, 

300. 

Pelops, Phrygian colonist, 3. 
Peloponnesus, country of, 3, 5, 

185, 199, 200. 
■ — first war in, IS5 — 

189— second, 199—204.— 

Conclusion of, 222—228. 
Peloponnesian cities, 356. 
PerdiccaSjkingofMacedon, 188. 

310. 

Pericles, Athenian chief, 180, 
181, 191—195, 215, 253. 

Peripatetics, sect of, 390. 

Perseus, king of Macedon, 5, 
380. 

Persia, empire of, 107, 111, 113, 

128—132, 179, 265, 288. 
Persian war, origin and progress 

of, 107—111, 150—153. 
Pharnabazus, Persian satrap, 

218, 219, 286. 
Phidias, sculptor, 205. 
Philip of Macedon, 7, 309, 317. 
Philopojmen, Achaean general, 

372, 375, 376. 
Philosophy, state of, 74, 231 — 

239, 386—393. 
Philotas, Macedonian general, 

342. 

Phocians, Phocis, 139, 144, 312, 
353. 

Phocion, Grecian general, 314, 
353. 

Phoenicia, province of, S. 
Pindar, poet of Thebes, 242, 
243. 

2 



Piraeus, harbour of, 165, 259, 
295. 

Pisander, Spartan general, 287. 
Pisistratus of Athens, 40, 59, 

68—71, 99. 
Pittacus, one of the Grecian 

sages, 45. 
Platsea, Platseans, 22, 132, 146, 

200, 234. 
Plato, philosopher, 280, 387, 388. 
Plutarch, historian, 58. 
Poets, Poetry, state of, 81—85. 

231, 239, 386—393. 
Polybius, historian, 376, 382, 

383. 

Polycletus, sculptor, 254. 

Polygnotus, artist, 254. 

Polysserchon, governor of A- 
thens, 353, 354. 

Porus, Indian king, conquered 
by Alexander, 344. 

Potidsea, battle and siege of, 
200, 216. 

Praxiteles, sculptor, 392. 

Priam, king of Troy, 25—28. 

Procles, Spartan king, 6. 

Protagoras, philosopher, 234. 

Protogenes, artist of Rhodes, 
355, 392. 

Prytanes, magistrates of Co- 
rinth, 6. 

Ptolemy Soter, king of Egypt, 
354, 372. 

Philadelphus, king of 

Egypt, 355. 

Pylagoras, Amphictyonic de- 
puty, 96. 

Pyrrhic dance, 13. 

Pyrrho, Pyrrhonists, sect of, 391. 

Pyrrhus, Grecian chief, 28. 

king of Epirus, 356, 

Pythoness, priestess of Apollo, 
40, 90. 

Pythagoras, philosopher of Sa- 

mos, 76—48. 
Pythagoreans, sect of, 233, 
Pythian Apollo, oracle of the, 

(see Delphic.) 
public games, 68, 101, 

Rhadamanthus, Cretan legisla- 
tor, 12. 



4l0 



INDEX. 



f Rhodes, memorable sieg-e of, 

355— isle of, 324. 

colossus of, 355. 

Roman empire, 2, 356, 374, 379, 

384. 

Rome, city of, 28, 374, 381. 

Sag-es, seven Grecian, 6, 56, 
74. 

Salamis, battle of, 150, 152, 
Sappho, Sapphics, 84. 
Sardis, capital of Lydia, 62, 110, 
153. 

- Sculpture, state of, 254, 392. 
Scytale, description of, 158. 
Scythia invaded by Alexander, 

330, 341. 
Septuagint version of the sacred 

Scriptures, 355. 
Sicily, war in, 207—211, 217. 
Sicyon, king-dom and city of, 6, 

371, 374. 
Simonides, ancient Greek poet, 

69, 140, 240. 
Sisyphus founds Corinth, 6. 
Slavery, state of, in Crete, 14. 
Socrates, philosopher, 208, 215, 

226, 233, 246, 273—279, 386. 
Sogdiana, Susiana, 336, 341. 
Solon, legislator of Athens, 35, 

40, 56—60, 62. 
Sophists, sect of the, 235, 274. 
Sophocles, dramatic poet, 102, 

243. 

Sophroniscus, Athenian sculptor, 
273. 

Sparta, kingdom of, 5, 41, 45, 

132, 207. 
Sphacteria, isle of, 202, 203. 
Statira, queen of Persia, 335. 
Stoics, sect of, 389. 
Syracuse, (see Sicily.) 

Tarsus, Alexander's illness at, 
333. 

Ten Thousand, retreat of the, 
264. 

Thales, of Miletus, philosopher, 
66, 74. 

Thebes, city of, 3, 6, 292, 295, 
393. 



Theban war, 291—297. 
Themistocles, Athenian general, 

116, 128, 132, 144. 145, 150— 

153, 163—167, 185. 
Theocritus, of Syracuse, poet, 

392. 

Theopompus, Spartan king, 46. 
Theramenes, orator, 227, 261, 
Thermopylae, battle of, 22, 132, 

136, 141. 
Theromnemon, Amphictyonic 

deputy, 96. 
Theseus, Grecian chief, 15, 32. 
Thesmoi, law of Draco, 52. 
Thesmothetse, archons so called, 

35. 

Thespians, join the Greek con- 
federacy, 132, 139. 

Thessaly, kingdom of, 3, 7, 16, 
313. 

Thirty Athenian tyrants, 258, 
261. 

Thrace, Thracians, 179, 189, 
203. 

Thrasybulus, Athenian patriot, 
223, 258, 261, 288. 

Thucydides, general and histo- 
riographer, ^203, 252, 321. 

Tissaphernes, Persian satrap, 
218, 266, 284. 

Trojan war, 1, 25—28. 

Trophonius, oracle of, 90- 

Troy, city and kingdom of, 12, 
20, 26—28. 

Tyre, siege and capture of, 335, 
336. 

Ulysses, Grecian chief, 27. 

Xanthippus, father of Pericles, 

122, 153. 
Xenocrates, philosopher, 388. 
Xenophanes, philosopher, 234. 
Xenophon, general and historian, 

267—269, S88. 
Xerxes invades Greece, 128 — 

132, 137—140, 144—147, 150 

—153. 

Zeno, philosopher, 234, 236, 
Zeuxis, painter, 254. 



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